


This Could Ruin my Social Status

by ta3662



Category: RWBY
Genre: Albino!Weiss, Alternate Universe - High School, Booknerd!Blake, Cheerleader!Coco, Cheerleader!Weiss, Coming Out, F/F, F/M, Football Player!Yang, High SchoolAU, Mental Disorders, Nerd!Ruby, Non-binary character, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Characters - Freeform, Unlabeled Sexualities, because high school is out, minor homophobia, writing about high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23393992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ta3662/pseuds/ta3662
Summary: Ruby Rose, child prodigy attending Beacon High School. Weiss Schnee, Co-Captain of the Huntresses, Beacons cheer team. Both from different social groups, both met at the library. What happens when all of the study rooms are filled and Weiss needs one to study for her Physics test next period? Luckily, Ruby Rose and her kindness are forced to share a study room with Weiss because Weiss wants it, and whatever Weiss wants, Weiss gets. What happens when these two opposites continue to bump into each other?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neptune Vasilias/Sun Wukong, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 111
Kudos: 403





	1. I Need This Room

An icy glare. That's all it usually took for people to cower in fear because of her. That's all it took for people to clear a way in the hallway because guess what, she was Weiss freaking Schnee. Said girl was making purposeful strides toward her locker, her head held high just like it should be because if you weren't listening before, she's Weiss _freaking_ Schnee.

She put the books she wasn't using away and grabbed everything she needed for her physics class. Because of her free period, Weiss thought it wound be a good idea to study for the test she has the following period. Physics was her weakest subject. Now don't get it twisted, Weiss was a straight A student and never performed at anything less than the best.....except for well....physics. She had a 93% in the class and that certainly would not do. Schnee's are supposed to perform with elegance and perfection and here she was almost getting a _B_. She could practically hear the cosmos laughing at her sorrows now. 

With the same purposeful strides, Weiss made her way to the library. Usually during her free period, Weiss was in the library test or no test. She just preferred it, the quietness was needed when she would get lost within her own thoughts, plus it gave her a nice break from people. Don't get her wrong, she wouldn't trade the popularity for the world, but it got tiring. So many glares to give to people who were incompetent, so many questions to answer in class because her own classmates were not up to par, so many people to show just how amazing she was. It was a hard life. 

Luckily for everyone else, she was willing to carry that burden with her. Super generous, right?

Anyways, Weiss had made her way up to the library, a room that opposed to her thinking, was quite crowded today. She made her way over to the study rooms in hopes to escape the additional people who decided to invade the library to entertain their shenanigans. Okay, so maybe there wasn't that many people, but in her defense it's usually deserted. Imagine her surprise when a population of 20-some students decide to reside there for the period. 

She made her way to the study rooms in hopes of her luck changing. She was sorely disappointed to find that they were also all populated. She scanned the rooms, a study group, a pair, another group, and a single girl. The girl was sitting there in her bulky headphones and drawing, something the rooms are not supposed to be used for. They are study rooms, used for _studying_ and _working_.

So Weiss did what any rational person would do, she stormed up to the door and opened it. The girl sitting there must not have heard her, seeing as she didn't react in the slightest, that or she was ignoring her. She would guess the former. One, because she was wearing those bulky headphones, (seriously does she have no style?) and two, who would ignore her? For the last time, she was _Weiss. Freaking. Schnee._

"Excuse me." No response was given. Just how loud did she have her music? Or how rude was this girl? Instead she took a different approach. She closed the door and walked up to the side of the table opposite of the girl. She stood there for a second, still not being noticed.

She smacked her hand on the table in front of herself and the girl, that seemed to get the latter's attention. She looked up slowly while taking off her headphones, confusion evident in her face. 

"Uh, can I help you?" The girl tilted her head to the side, not unlike a dog. Cute. Wait...What?

"You can actually. These rooms are meant for studying and working, not....doodling. The library seems to be quite populated today for whatever reason, and I need a place to study. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave I can-"

"I was here first, and I am doing work. I have just as much of a right to be here as you do, Princess." The mystery girl maintained eye contact with the forceful girl. 'Never look away from a beast' Yang had always told her. The second you look away is the second they get sneaky, you should never leave an opening. She told Yang that comparing high school girls to beasts was insane, but since being in high school for 2 months, she's started seeing the resemblance. 

Princess? No one calls her that, it's always just 'Ice Queen.' Here eyes widened slightly. "Hey, wait. I know you." Her arms crossed and her eyes hardened. "You bumped into me the first week of school." 

\--------------------------------------------  


_Quick, heavy footsteps had been the only warning Weiss was given before she was crashing to the ground._

__

__

_Weiss had been walking with Pyrrah and Coco to her locker when she hit the floor. The books and papers she had been carrying went flying everywhere and she was vaguely aware of the weight on her hips. Weiss took a breath before opening her eyes, ready to give whoever knocked her over hell._

_Weiss was not a bully by any means. A bitch? Of course, but Weiss would never target individuals. A ruler had to be fair, so she decided that she would just be a bitch to everyone that was not up on par with her. Fair didn't always mean equal._

_Opening her eyes in irritation she looked up only to find silver looking back at her. Big, innocent, fearful, apologetic, silver eyes looked down at her. The girls body seemed frozen._

_The hallway? Silent. It was the end of the day, most people were already gone and the few straggler were not in this part of the hallway. Her's and her companions' plan was to grab their stuff from their lockers and head to the locker room. They had practice in about a half an hour and with Weiss being captain, it was crucial that she was the first one to arrive._

_Before Weiss was able to process just how pretty the girl was, her anger took over. The girl must have noticed a shift in her features because she was quick to scurry off of her._

_"I-I am so sorry," the girl looked younger, typical a freshman._

_"Save it." Her voice was sharp and demanding, the irritation clearly making it's presents known. "Listen, Freshy. I don't have time for this. I don't have time for you. Just run along and crawl back into whatever hole you came out of."_

_"Junior." The voice was quick. She began picking up Weiss' things._

_"Excuse me?" Weiss was standing up now, she quickly noticed that this girl was slightly taller than her. That seemed to increase her irritation._

_"I'm a junior, not a freshman." She handed the books and papers back to Weiss, hopefully in an order similar to what they were before._

_"That information is irrelevant. Whether you are the age of a child or not, you still have the look of one, and the mentality apparently since you can't seem to grasp yet that running in a hallway is highly inappropriate. Now run along dog, I'm sure you have some fetch to play." Weiss knew Pyrrah and Coco were behind her, Pyrrah probably waiting to tell her that she was probably taking it too far._

_"Listen, Princess, I said that I was sorry. I understand that you're irritated, you have every right to be, but calling me a dog is a bit much." Ruby took the time to study her, she had a bow in her hair. A cheer bow. It all made sense. "Ohhhh, you're a cheerleader."_

_"Co-captain. Now that you get it, we will have to be on our way."_

_"You're the bitchy one." Her voice relieved her revelation. "My sister told me about you. 'Little Miss Perfect.'"_

_Weiss scoffed. "I'm not perfect. Not yet, but I'm still leagues better than everyone else, including you." With that, Weiss strutted away to her locker, her friends following her. Receding footsteps told her that the girl was also leaving, good. She didn't want the girl to hear Pyrrah when she began to lecture her._

_"Weiss, don't you think that was a bit too far?" She called it. ___

____

____

_"Maybe, but I can't take it back now, it has already been said. Come on, we're going to be late." Weiss shut her locker and began making her way to the locker room. Coco rolled her eyes. 'Little Miss Perfect?' No. Little Miss Stick Up Her Ass? Yes. That girl had been one of the first people to ever stand up against Weiss. Maybe Coco could do some digging and see if she could get the Schnee Heiress laid because lets face it, she needs that stick out of her ass and some fingers in her-_

_"Coco, come on!" Well, you know what she means._

\----------------------------------------------

"We've met before. You ran into me in the halls." The realization struck Ruby the same way it struck Weiss. "Okay, listen Junior, I'm feeling generous today. I'll sit on one side of the table and you can sit at the other. We close the curtains so no one can see that I'm associated with you, and we do not interact by any means. Understand?"

"Wow, what a privilege." Ruby rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on. Weiss just huffed before moving to close the blinds before sitting down. Truth be told, the only reason Ruby put her headphones back on so soon was because she was internally panicking. Weiss Schnee, the girl who called her a dog during their first meeting, was now willing to be in the same room with her. Only her. Weiss Schnee, the same girl who Ruby now knows is infamous for being cold-hearted and as sharp as steel. Weiss Schnee, the same girl that has caused Ruby to realize just how gay she really is. 

Can you blame her though? 

She knew she was gay before, but Weiss was a completely different level. 

Ruby tried not to pay much mind to the while-haired beauty on the other side of the table. She continued her drawing, a blueprint for her mechanics class. In all honesty, she didn't really need it, but the outline was good to have for her ideas. She continued to draw line, after line, after line, all while trying to sneak a peak at the cheerleader. 

Weiss, who was too busy to look away from her notes, didn't seem to notice; which in Ruby's opinion was a good thing. The last thing she needed was for Weiss to tell all of her friends she was a creep. 

As it would turn out, Ruby had spoken too soon.

Within a split second of her thought, Weiss' head slowly looked up, a frown covering it as the two girls made eye contact. Slowly, Ruby took off her headphones and placed her hands in her lap, nervously fidgeting. 

"Can I help you?" Sharp and to the point, just like the rumors and the 1.5 interactions they've had already. 

"N-no, sorry. Just getting distracted. I do that a lot." Ruby gave a nervous smile and rubbed the back of her neck, hoping the excuse was enough, even if it was true. 

"I see. You should continue working, there is only 15 minutes left until the next period. Also, stop staring at me, it's distracting. I understand I have admirers, but please do it in the hallways like everyone else." Weiss then turned back to her notes and continued studying, jotting down what Ruby assumed was important information.

'Huh, I guess she can be a little nice, but she's so full of herself,' Ruby thought to herself as she put her headphones on, without music this time. After all, she needed to hear the bell that was apparently going off in 15 minutes. Time sure does fly, especially when you're lost in your thoughts. 

Ruby looked down at her paper, she was already almost finished. The actual assignment wasn't due for a couple of days, but due to her outline she was sure she could get it done by tomorrow. Ruby continued to draw lines, her engine forming beautifully on the paper before her. 

Gosh, whoever the fist mechanic was, she wanted to thank them. Building machines and engineering was one of her biggest passions, and she's lucky she has it. After her mother died, it was hard to process that she was really, gone. But mechanics, something her and her mother did together, made her realize that she wasn't really gone. Every little gadget, and machine, and memory was still there. 

Thanks to her mother, Ruby was able to fix up and restore her first car, and her first love, Crescent Rose. Crescent Rose was a cherry red 1960's Ford Mustang, and she loved her with all of her heart. She didn't drive her to school often, since Yang had her own car and it was just easier that way. 

_*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*_

The bell. Damn. Wrapped up in her own thoughts, Ruby failed to realize the time had passed quickly. _Again._

She quickly gathered up her things and practically stuffed them in her backpack. 'So much for staying organized this year.' With that thought, the silver-eyed-girl made her way to the door, without so much as a glance towards the cheer captain. Now, this was not out of hostility. In her rush, the girl completely forgot that she had been sharing the room with someone else. That and her mechanics class was all the way on the other side of the school building. 

Originally, Ruby had planned on leaving one or two minutes early so that she could avoid the traffic in the hallways, and avoid rushing herself. Now the young Rose gets the privilege of maneuvering her way through sweaty, disgusting teenagers as she rushes herself to class. 

On the way, she runs into Yang. 

"Heyyyyy, little sister. How was your free period?" Yang, a linebacker on the football team, and the only girl on the team. Originally, the coach had been hesitant to even let her try out, but school rules were school rules. Color him impressed when Yang managed to exceed the majority of expectations he had for his _returning players._ Yang had been put on the team and had made Beacon history by being the first girl. 

"Kinda weird actually."

"Oh? How?"

"Weiss Schnee sat with me."

Yang made a sour face. "Oh." Then her face contorted to anger and her body shifted into a stiffer state, one meant for protection. "She didn't do anything, did she?" 

"No, actually. She needed a study room, so she-" Ruby cut herself off, "so we shared." 

"Huh. Well that is pretty weird, especially for the Ice Queen."

"Yeah, I know. It's-"

_*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*_

"Damn it! I'm late, again!" Ruby ended the conversation and started running through the now empty hallways. Yang's cackling could be heard behind her as it slowly faded the further she became. 

'Damn Yang and her free period.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this AU will be a good one. I've always liked the idea of nerd/geek+cheerleader and who else to do it on other than Ruby the weapon nerd and the Ice Queen herself? Comments and kudos' are appreciated<3 Check out my YouTube channel @WhiteOnion


	2. Why am I seeing you Everywhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited second chapter, especially for those of you who saw the teaser since I messed up😬

The cafeteria. A room of nightmares and chaos. Awful if you had no friends and awful if you were popular. Weiss never loved large crowds, weird since so many people would kill just for a viewing of the Schnee heiress. Truth be told, Weiss had learned to associate crowds with bad things. Her father had so many gatherings to try and set her up with potential suitors, business deals, and to glorify her to the point where she was nothing more than a trophy for the rich pigs he calls business partners.

She's never liked large crowds. There was always too much noise and it was hard to focus. Everyone talking to everyone. Friends talking to friends. Losers making an attempt to get close to her table when they knew they had no chance. Weiss hated interacting with the majority of people, but he hated interacting with people who thought they were good enough for her the most.

"-iss." Oh shit that was her name. Kinda.

"What?"

"You good?" Weiss looked at her friends. Coco was looking at her expectantly, and everyone else's eyes were on her.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Curt and to the point, just like father taught her.

"Honey, you look paler than normal, and that's saying something." Neptune looked at her with a concerned expression. He was one of three boys on the cheer squad, along with Fox and Scarlet.

"It's nothing." Weiss knew her friends knew about her anxiety, but that didn't make it any easier to talk about. Her doctor had diagnosed her with it at 11, but father said he would not have a drug addict for a daughter, so no prescription was given. "It's just the noise, it's fine."

"Do you want us to-"

"H-hey, W-weiss." Pyrrha was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. The group turned to find a scrawny looking boy, maybe two inches taller than Weiss looking nervously at the group. See, this is what she was talking about. Some pimple-face freshman thinking he was good enough to talk to her. She did not have the time or the patience to deal with him right now.

"You have three seconds."

"Well, I-I just wanted to-"

"One."

"-Let you know that you were pretty and-"

"Two."

"-Was wondering if you wanted to maybe go onadatewithme!"

"Three." Weiss looked at the squirming boy, his eyes on longer on her and now on the floor. A date? Ha! Weiss hasn't heard a better joke all week. This-this stick was trying to ask her out on a date? Hilarious. "Absolutely not. Now, leave. You have taken up enough of my time as it is and for your own sake, I suggest you don't take up any more." The boy rushed away, weaving though the rows of students both standing and sitting.

"Shit Weiss, what got your panties in a knot?" Coco waved her spoon at her, a small smirk on her face.

"Maybe she's on her period?" Nora offered as she continued to eat. It's a wonder that girl never gains weight.

"No, the bitch just needs to get laid." The table erupted into a fit of giggles. Neptune and Coco both looked at each other, knowing it was the truth and silently agreeing to help Weiss whether she wants it or not.

"Sorry Nympho, not everything is about sex." Weiss rolled her eyes and looked away from the table. Her eyes soon found a blob of red, which she soon identified as that freshm-no sorry, that Junior that she shared the study room with.

She must have spaced out for a second because she was soon back to the same situation she was in when lunch started.

"-iss." Right, she was having a conversation.

"What." She voice had an edge to it, she was slightly annoyed. Luckily, her friends knew there was no harm done. Coco followed her previous line of vision, only for her eyes to land on a person wearing red. 'It's that girl from before.'

"Hey, that's the girl that bumped into you a while ago, isn't it?" Looks like Pyrrha beat her to the punch.

"Yeah, it is. Her and I shared a study room the other day and-" Weiss immediately stopped herself from speaking. How dare her mouth betray her and reveal that kind of information.

"Shared? You? I didn't know you were capable of such actions." Coco couldn't keep a straight face though the comment, so the last few words came out in giggles, the rest of the group also laughing at Coco's antics.

"Oh, haha," Weiss rolled her eyes, but couldn't deny that the comment was true.

"Wait," Pyrrha's voice broke up the small banter. "Please tell me you were civil this time."

"This time? What happened last time?" Nora spoke between bites.

"Weiss was....in a bit of a rush and that girl bumped into her and she snapped." Pyrrha said with a nervous laugh and a hand behind her neck.

"Schnee over here compared her to a dog. Multiple times," Coco added, as if she was trying to make the situation worse.

"Look, in my defense I thought she was some freshman who didn't know who they were messing with. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings when we shared the room so it must just be fine then." Weiss glared at Coco, who gave her a cheeky smile in return.

"Oh, so she accepted your apology?" Pyrrha only assumed the best in people, so there's no wonder why she would ask something like that. She was Weiss Schnee, she apologized to no one. Why would she need to apologize if she was always right? The rest of the table laughed.

"No, I practically forced the girl to share the room with me. She didn't raise any objections, so I'd say all is forgiven." Or maybe it was because Weiss didn't give her much of a chance to object. Either way, they were in the same room together, so what was the problem?

"Wow, you didn't just force her out? Awww, guys look! Our Ice Queen does have a heart." Neptune gushed as the rest of the table started to laugh again. Weiss rolled her eyes before making her gaze settle on the brunette again. For someone so childlike, she was kinda cute. Nora noticed Weiss go quiet again, and followed her gaze, much like Coco the previous time. Maybe she should be less obvious?

"Hey! I know her!" Weiss' gaze ripped away from the girl in question, and all eyes were on Nora. "We have mechanics together. Apparently she's some child prodigy, so no wonder you thought she was a freshman. She was supposed to be starting her first year this year, but she's like suuuuper smart and they bumped her up so she's a junior instead. Her name's Ruby I think."

'Ruby, huh?' She was too lost in her own thoughts to see that Neptune had Nora point Ruby out to him. Coco and Neptune shared a look, one that would probably hint to the rest of the world that they were scheming. Weiss paid no mind to it, mostly because she didn't notice, but that was her own choice, obviously.

Weiss scoffed at herself. She shouldn't even be looking at Ruby, and didn't she think that she was cute a little while ago. How dare her heart try to influence her head in any way. As if she would have a crush on that undignified heap of a child. So what if she was some super genius? So what if she had this childish charm about her physical features that she could pull off? So what if Cardin Winchester was walking up to her table as she watched? Wait. What?

Weiss watched semi-lost in thought as Cardin Winchester made his way over to Ruby's table. She could blame him. From the looks of it, Ruby was friends with what have been pegged as the losers.

Jaune Arc, aka Vomit boy. He threw up in the courtyard on his first day after he got off of the bus. Embarrassingly enough, he had to take the bus in the first place. He then had the audacity to not only try to talk to Weiss, but to ask her out, not once, not twice, but five times. Seriously, the kid doesn't know the meaning of the word no, and not in a good way. Weiss had decided early on that she was not fond of the boy, but Pyrrha had decided that she found his antics charming. Weiss had to agree in a 'count jester clown' sort of way. Someone that was always the butt of everyone's jokes and to laugh at, nothing more.

Blake Belladonna, a book nerd. You never saw her without a fucking book and it was infuriating. In middle school she used to wear these dumb cat ears around, and Weiss was glad that she grew out of that...disgusting phase. Not only for the fact that Blake was no longer the talk of the school, but because it honestly hurt Weiss' eyes. When the girl did decide you were worth her time, she could be enjoyable company, not that Weiss would ever say that out loud. They had to work together on a project one time, and Weiss was thankful that she was both respected and not expected to do the entire project by herself.

Velvet Scarlatina, someone Weiss didn't know much about. She was a quiet, mousy girl. She was a meek Australian and you would assume that because she was foreign that people would crowd around her. She didn't enjoy attention and she seemed to have clicked with the little group of rejects fairly quickly. Oddly enough, she had found Coco checking her out multiple times, and had even encouraged her to go after her.

Unfortunately for her little group of friends, going after the losers was like social suicide, and last time she checked, none of them had a death wish.

Then there was Ruby. The adorable little puppy that, quite literally, crashed into Weiss' life. She didn't know much about her either. Other than the fact that she was _not_ adorable and her brain is lying. Oh, and that apparently she's some genius miracle child. A genius miracle child who was currently being bullied by Cardin Winchester because she wasn't doing anything about it. 

With a sigh, Weiss got up out of her seat and began making her way to the group that she realizes is making quite a commotion now. Her friends all gave her a weird look, well, most of them did, not that Weiss could see. Neptune and Coco were both looking at her with a smirk, before looking at each other. The closer Weiss got, the more she could hear what was happening. 

Apparently, Ruby had corrected Cardin in class earlier today, and caused the rest of the class to laugh. Weiss then looked at everyone sitting at the table. Ruby and Velvet both looked surprised, most likely frightened due to Cardin's large and loud presence. Blake looked annoyed at Cardin, probably wishing she could just go back to reading. However, that was before she looked at Weiss. Her face now looking confused as to why Weiss was making her way over to them. Jaune...honestly looked uncomfortable. From what she knows about the boy, he is very much a pushover and hates confrontation, so this situation was probably less than ideal.

"Cut it out Cardin." Her sharp voice cut through the confrontation completely. It was honestly easy, like cutting an apple, not that she would know, she had people that did that for her. "Seriously, we already knew you were an idiot, why take it out on her? She was merely pointing out what everyone knew, so stop being such a pussy and let it go." 

"Listen, dyke, this doesn't involve you, so you can just-"

"I can just what Cardin?"

"Why do you even care? Who cares if I show a couple of losers their place."

"You're disrupting my lunch."

"Then go eat outside, but this bitch-" 

"Sun's party." Apparently that all it took for Cardin to go quiet. Last year during one of Sun's parties Cardin got so drunk he could barely tell boy from girl. He ended up admitting to Weiss that he had a blanky that he couldn't sleep without. Now before, Weiss had no use for the information due to the fact that she and Cardin didn't cross paths often. Now she gets to use it for what she deems the greater good. Cardin went stiff before walking away, muttering something about how she was a 'stupid dyke' and that she should 'say out of things that don't involve her.' That statement was honestly laughable. Did he really expect her not to meddle with things? 

"Thank you, that was really nice of you," a child-like voice reached her ears, pulling her out of whatever trace she was just in. Weiss looked over to see Ruby with a small smile on her face. A small blush started to cover her cheeks. How dare she think Weiss did that for her. She obviously didn't. He was being disruptive. That's it. Weiss crossed her arms and stiffened her posture. 

"Shut up, I didn't do that for you. As I said before, he was being disruptive." Weiss quickly turned away and made her way back to her table.

'Stupid Ruby for thinking I was doing that for her. He was being disruptive, that's all there was to it. There's no way I would go out of my way to defend her like some....some stupid hero in a fairy tail.' Weiss may have been lost in her thoughts for the millionth time today, but she wasn't alone. Blake was also doing some thinking. 

'Weiss Schnee.' Blake knew her and Ruby had interacted on two occasions, but from what Ruby told her, Weiss was not nice to her in the slightest. So why was she coming up and playing hero? Weiss may have thought she was being slick, but the blush on her face from looking at Ruby gave her away. Blake continued to look like she was reading her book as she was thinking. 

'Could Miss Schnee have a crush on Ruby?' It was no secret that Weiss like girls, and it was just confirmed in front of everyone thanks to Cardin. Blake could always ask her, but Weiss would immediately get defensive. Maybe she could get Velvet to ask Coco? She knew that Velvet and Coco were close, kind of? She could always ask Yang, but she wasn't sure how close the football player was with the cheerleader. 

Either way, she was going to find out what the hell was going on, because never in her wildest dreams would she think that Weiss would blush and play hero all for a silly crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From writing this I've learned two things. One, I love this writing style, and two, the 'popular kid falls in love with the loser' is now my favorite trope. 
> 
> Twitter: @tatumanderson0  
> Instagram: @tjaz0909  
> Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ta3662


	3. Stage 1: Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, so in exchange this chapter is a bit longer than the previous two.

After the lunchroom incident a week ago, Blake hadn't come any closer to finding out what Weiss' deal was with Ruby. She mentioned it to Yang offhandedly, who revealed that she and Weiss were not close in the slightest, which meant that she had to come up with a plan by herself. It started off simple: annoy and manipulate Weiss into telling her the truth. A simple, one step plan that would work if she played her cards right. Hopefully. In order to put her plan in motion, she would need to find a way to talk to Weiss in secret. After school was off limits since Weiss had cheer and Blake didn't want to be on school grounds longer than she needed to. Lunch? Yeah right. The only time she could think of would be during class, and that's not the most ideal for talking in secret.

Her and Weiss both had AP Language together with Ms. Goodwitch. Now, there were a few obstacles that would pose a threat to her operation. One, Ms. Goodwitch was very strict and did not tolerate any talking in her class. Two, from what she knew, Weiss was very stubborn. Three, they would be surrounded by people. Last but not least, Blake did not usually sit by Weiss. Which means if she moved from the back to go sit with Weiss, who sits near the front, some heads would definitely turn some heads.

Turns out this plan needed more than one step.

New plan: Get to class later than Weiss, walk past her desk and give her a note, have her sit next to you, make her spill her secrets. Perfect. She walked into class, one minute before the final bell. As expected the young Schnee heiress was already sitting in her seat, second row, three seats to the left of the teachers desk. Blake walked in between Weiss' row and the row to her left. She quickly put the note on her desk and made her way to her seat. Weiss looked up from her backpack after grabbing her notebook and pens to see the note on her desk. She looked at it for a second before putting her stuff down and opening up the small piece of paper.

 _'Tomorrow sit next to me. We need to talk.'_ -Blake

Weiss looked behind her at the culprit who gave her the note, only to see that she was nose deep in a book. 'Go figure.' With a roll of her eyes, Weiss looked back at the board to see that Goodwitch had already started writing on the board. She opened her notebook and began jotting down the words on the board, quickly forgetting about the note.

The next day, Blake beat Weiss to class. The seat she chose was 1 row back and to the left of Weiss' original seat, meaning she only needed to move her own seat back by one. Some of her classmates looked at her weird, but she paid no mind to it, they knew not to question her or she'd ruin their reputation. Weiss was confused at first as to why Blake wanted to talk to her. She was laying in her bed last night when she remembered the look Blake had given her the previous week in the lunchroom, and most likely had already figured out that Weiss had a crush on Ruby. Wait. No. No no no no. She did not have a crush on that- that child. It was curiosity, yes! Just curiosity, not a crush. There was no way she could have a crush on some no named dolt.

That's right, she was just some dolt. Some dolt with...really pretty eyes. And book smarts. And a charming smile. And a- no. There was nothing great or amazing about her. There was no way Weiss would have a crush on her. Absolutely not.

During her inner debate, Weiss had unconsciously already gotten out her materials for class. It wasn't long before Goodwitch had her back to the class, giving Blake an opportunity to slide Weiss a note.

 _'What's the deal with Ruby?'_ Great. Straight to the point. Weiss continued to jot down her notes before writing a hasty response.

_'I have no idea what you are referring to.'_

_'Don't play dumb Schnee, I have eyes. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing.'_

_'There is no deal with Ruby. Nothing is happening. Even if something was happening, it wouldn't work. I have a reputation to uphold.'_

_'You mean the reputation of being a bitch? Look, Ruby may not be part of the popular kids or anything, but you could do so much worse. Like soooo much worse.'_

_'Trust me, I'm well aware.'_

_'Oh? So you've thought of it, at least.'_ Shit. Blake watched Weiss slightly stiffen in her seat before crumbling up the paper and sticking it in her backpack.

After that conversation with Blake, it was safe to say that Weiss was in a bad mood. How dare she just.... just accuse her of such actions. Of such feelings. Weiss Schnee was the HBIC and she would be damned if some cat eared wearing book nerd thought she knew better than Weiss. She doesn't know anything.

Weiss' bad mood carried over to the rest of her classes. Not even school work could keep her mind off of Blake the smart ass. Her friends seemed to notice this since they were quieter than normal, as was the rest of the cheer team. Now, usually, Weiss and Coco planned the night before as to what they would be doing in practice the following day. But, due to Weiss' sudden change in mood, there was a sudden change in plans.

Weiss did what any good ruler would do, take it out on her subjects. Because if a ruler wasn't happy, could any of the subjects truly be as well?  
Keep in mind, that Weiss was not a cruel person. The obvious thing to do would just be to push the cheer team harder that day, which is what she did. Did she make them run a mile today instead of half of one? Yes. Did she shorten the ten minute break to five minutes? Obviously. Did she make everyone do a three minute plank? 100%. Why? Because she did NOT have a crush on Ruby whatever her last name is.

The team may have hated her at the time, but she did the workouts with them and they honestly weren't even that hard. If those babies want to complain, let them, they don't deserve a spot on the team anyways. Weiss stood there, slightly out of breath, with a towel over the back of her neck and her shirt off. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled slightly. She may have been a tad sweaty, but even she could still enjoy her beautiful figure.

When wearing clothes she looked quite fragile, but underneath them you could clearly see her sleek and subtle muscles defined through her skin. She moved her hand up to brush her bangs out of her face watching as her abdominal muscles shifted with the movement. Her body was something she was honestly proud of. She may have had an above average metabolism that contributed to her figure, but the amount of hard work she's put into her body shows.

Her extensive care routine was not something to laugh at. The amount of products she used alone cost probably enough to feed a single person for a month. It wasn't her fault though. Her skin was sensitive due to her being albino (thanks genes!) and it always made being outside difficult, because one, her skin was sensitive and burned too easily, and two, her eyes were so sensitive to light. To the point where practically whenever the sun was out and she was outside, she was wearing sunglasses.

Did that make her look stuck up all of the time? Probably. Did she care? Not a chance.

She continued to study herself in the mirror. Her body was the perfect temple, from her feet to her head -well- all way up until you get to the scar on her left eye. The single blemish that compromises the claim of being perfect. The single blemish that shows the disobedience she enacted. The single reminder that she would behave, and the empty promise of 'It won't happen again.'

Coco ended up walking in on her during her little admiring session, sharing a look of sympathy when she saw where Weiss was focused on. She didn't bother mentioning it -she knew how much the scar bothered the slightly younger girl- and just asked if she wanted to go to the mall with her, Pyrrha, and Neptune. Weiss, of course, said yes. She quickly hopped into one of the school showers and got dressed. The four of them got into Coco's car, since she drove them to school this morning.

The mall, one of the few places Weiss really felt at home, and the perfect remedy for her poor mood. The internet had always told her that shopping therapy was not a healthy way to cope with life's stresses, but who were they to tell her that spending money wasn't good. Hell, they probably don't even have a dollar to their name if they claim buying stuff isn't healthy. She buys stuff all the time and look at her: a near perfect person who has enough admirers to have a date a day for years on end. Sounds pretty healthy if you ask her.

So, her and her friends went to store after store, buying whatever they pleased. Soon, the bags slowly started to pile up. Coco had the most, and surprise surprise, they were filled with clothes. Oddly enough, none of them were her family's brand. Well, odd to an outsider. Her inner circle knew that Coco had always preferred a variety, and had deemed it unacceptable to get discounted clothing, even if they were name brand. That, and the brand was far too... pastel for her taste.

Neptune and Pyrrha both had 2 bags. Neptune's with a stylish red jacket with back accents and an oversized collar, as well as some skin products and new shoes. Pyrrha's bags with various products and a male hoodie that had some bunny on it? Weiss questioned it at first, but Pyrrha said that bigger hoodies were more comfortable to sleep in. While that may not have been her first sleepwear choice, there were some appeals to a larger hoodie. Suddenly, the image of Weiss sleeping in a red hoodie that smelled like roses entered her mind. No. No. No. There were no hoodies and no roses. Just Weiss in her sleeping gown. How it should be.

Speaking of roses....

Weiss looks over at the food court, only to see Yang, Blake, Velvet, Jaune, and you guessed it, Ruby. The five of them were sitting together eating greasy fast food. The thought of what they were consuming made Weiss want to gag. Well, Velvet wasn't. She was eating a salad....so she was okay. However, the grease monstrosities that were being consumed were disgusting on so many levels. 

How did they all stay so skinny? Yang has an excuse, she's all muscle and needs more food in order to maintain that. But Blake and Jaune were far from what she would call muscular. Ruby...she doesn't really know. She tends to wear baggier clothes -baggy skinny jeans and a hoodie usually- so Weiss didn't really have an idea as to what Ruby's body looked like.

Not that she wanted to know what her body looked like anyways. To see if she was as lean as she imagined. To see if maybe there were some definition to her muscles. To see if she was strong enough to pick Weiss up. To see if she had a flat stomach...

Her eyes went wide at the thoughts. She could feel her own cheeks heat up and eyes on her. Neptune and Coco both looked in the direction she was, only for smirks to form on their faces as they watch Weiss' face slowly develop a red tint as she stared at Ruby and her friends. They were both willing to bet that she wasn't blushing because of the friends Ruby was sitting with. 

The two teens looked at each other, again seeming like they could read one another's mind. 

'Text me later,' Coco mouthed to Neptune. He nodded in response and looked back at Weiss, seeing her eyes widen. He looked back over at the group of friends to see Ruby looking back at Weiss. 

Like the domino effect, Yang and Blake turned their heads, curious to see what Ruby was staring at. Weiss ripped her eyes away from the table, trying and failing to pretend her little staring session didn't happen. The group kept walking, missing Yang and Blake sharing a look. Yang looking mostly confused, asking Blake the silent question of what was happening. Blake looked smug, knowing Weiss was looking at none other than Ruby Rose. Ruby continued to look over at the spot Weiss was previously standing, wondering why Weiss was looking at her in the first place and hoping that it was for a good reason. 

The two other members of the table looked more confused than Yang. Looking over to where Ruby was looking only to see an empty space. Deciding to ignore it, the blonde and the brunette respectively went back to eating.

Weiss remained distracted for the remainder of their mall trip. 'Ruby's body? Why in the hell was I thinking about her body? That's a normal thing right? Yes! It has to be. Of course it's normal for me to be curious about something. All humans are curious creatures and I'm a human.' Before she knew it, she was being dropped off at her family's manor. 

She walked in, bags in tow, and quickly made her way to her room. Unfortunately for her, her journey was cut short when she noticed a figure waiting by her room door.

"Winter!" At the sound of her name, the eldest Schnee sister turned her head to see her younger sister approach her with shopping bags and a small smile. She noticed the slight increase in pace from Weiss, wanting to get to her sister quickly while still maintaining an acceptable level of poise and maturity. She stood up straight to greet her younger sister. 

Weiss led her inside of her room and put her bags off to the side, no longer caring about the new possessions she obtained earlier that day. 

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Weiss sat down on the couch right of the door. Her room was sectioned off in a way. To the left of the door was her bed, whose headboard rested on the same wall as the entrance. Continuing on the left side, there was a dresser with a vanity mirror and her closet. The left side was also more elevated than the right, sectioned off from the rest of the room by a single stair step. 

The right side was more of a causal area. There was a couch near the wall opposite of the door and a table in front of it. The couch faced a television and further right there was a desk, neatly organized so that everything was easily acceptable. There was a bathroom door on the right most wall, filled with thousands of dollars worth of products, ranging from hair care, to make up.

"Do I need a reason other than I wished to see you, dear sister?" A single white eyebrow raised in question, but there was no negativity behind it. Weiss turned around to see a small smirk also present on her sisters face. 

"No I suppose you don't." Weiss returned the smirk before joining her sister on the ice-blue couch. The sisters faced each other, knees almost touching. A few moments later, a knock was heard from her door. 

Weiss started to get up, only to have her sister raise a single hand -halting her advances- before getting up herself. She quietly thanked whoever was at the door and turned around with a small tray containing a single teapot and two ceramic teacups on saucers, both decorated with small blue decals over the pristine white background. 

The two girls sat in silence for a few moments, before diving into conversation. Both girls hoped to catch up on the others life, and catch up they did. Weiss, of course, didn't tell her sister about her not crush on Ruby 'whatever her last name is', but other than that, everything was shared. They talked and laughed for hours.

\-------------------------------------

"Ha! I win again, loser." The declaration drowned out a groan of defeat and agony. 

"Of course you won, Yang. You can't just ask questions out of the blue like that!" Ruby turned to look at her sister, her face holding a pout while the latter's held a satisfied smirk. 

"All's fair in love and war." In all honesty, Yang didn't ask the question to solely through Ruby off, that was just a bonus. Yang would have to keep her true motives hidden from Ruby in order to get the information Blake had asked for. The question wasn't even that bad. Seriously. All she asked was what was going on with her and the 'Ice Queen' and to make sure that if they ever hooked up in the study room to be quiet because the library doesn't drown out noise very well. 

Did that earn her a red faced glare mixed with stuttering? Yeah. Does she regret it? Not really. 

She had heard about the little lunch room debacle from Blake earlier that week, sad that she didn't get to see it herself. However, seeing Weiss look at her sister from a far in a mall was not something you see everyday. She was confused at first, before she saw the smirk on Blake's face.

After talking to Blake about it, and learning that the ebony haired girl suspects the heiress has a crush on Ruby, Yang decided to do a bit of digging herself. If she could find out if Ruby reciprocates, then there's no telling what mischief Blake will cook up. While Yang may not support a relationship with the head bitch, if she treats her right and Ruby's happy, then she doesn't really get much of a say in that. 

Sure, she's spoken to Weiss enough to know that she can be civil when she wants to be, but that doesn't mean that Yang loves her as a person. 

In her distraction, she didn't realize that Ruby had started another match and was already beating her by one. 

"Oh, you are so going down you little nerd."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Next chapter will hopefully be up sooner than this one was:)) 
> 
> Twitter: @tatumanderson0  
> Instagram: @tjaz0909  
> Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ta3662


	4. Stage 2: Anger

The scratching of pencils on paper filled the silence in the room. Good thing too. When the two girls had entered the room at the start of the period, there had been nothing but tense, awkward silence.

The two sounds contrasted each other. Ruby's pencil, slow and steady, creating the same sound as Ruby created lines. A new drawing, but not a blueprint. She was trying out a new art style that she honestly dreaded: geometric.

It didn't make any sense to her. Meaningless shapes in meaningless positions with meaningless colors. Line after line after line. Simplicity in emptiness. Line drawings of squares and triangles overlapping and intersecting each other. Some get filled in with white on the tan paper. A fragment of a triangle becomes blue. Line after line after line. Soon the picture becomes complex. Parts of squares hidden by the triangles. Blue overtakes white, leaving the purity to be covered and scythed by the royalty and expectations of the blue. 

The darkest of blues corrupting the art piece, making sure that's where the attention is drawn. Only seeing a single part. A light blue is added, overlapping with the once overwhelming presence of the dark blue. The calm and steely like presence of the blue distracts onlookers for a brief moment before they realize what they're being distracted from. 

A euphemism for the ineffectiveness of a mask. Ironic considering humans have proven the use of a mask time and time again. Maybe the ineffectiveness is not something directed outwards. One cannot hide from their true nature once it is discovered. The ineffectiveness to hide from one's true self, while doubling as being effective in hiding one's true self from others. 

The same object, yet two side of the same coin.

No. That's not correct. 

It's more of a double edge sword. To hurt others by lying to an unknowing victim is to hurt yourself by hiding. To present the most desirable form of yourself in order to truly feel like you can be accepted by society. What is existence without acceptance? Humans strive to be accepted by other people, to feel wanted. Being wanted by someone else gives someone a sense of purpose, but why is that? Why is it that in order to feel truly alive one must rely on the needs of others? 

In her....deep and life-questioning thoughts, Ruby failed to realize she had added something new to her art piece: a single red circle. Half of the circle was covered by the steely light blue, yet you could still see the red from under it. The multimedia of the piece didn't allow the colors to be mixed. Rather than making a soothing purple, it made a battle between red and blue. No matter how much the blue tried to cover the vibrancy of the red, it persevered. 

However, that did not mean that all hope was lost. The coolness of the blue balanced out the energetic red. One could not overpower the other, so instead, they live together, side by side. The blue developing underlying vibrancy of red. When looked at side by side, it was not surprising to see that the blue began to pull some of the coolness out of the red itself, contradicting the warm and energetic nature of the color.

"Sorry to interrupt your mindless spacing out, but if you could so kindly _shut up_ , I would _greatly_ appreciate it." Ruby looked up to see a smile on Weiss' face that was anything but sincere. She was confused at first, only to follow the white-haired girl's line of sight and see that she had been tapping her pencil against the table for what she assumed to be a long period of time

Ruby noticed that for the rest of the period, Weiss seemed to be in a foul mood. When the bell rang, she stormed out of the room without saying anything. Ruby wondered why pencil tapping had made her so mad, but didn't pay any mind to it passed that and hastily packed up before going to her next class. 

\-----------------------------------------------

"Damn, pissed again? I thought girls only got their periods once a month." If looks could kill, Neptune would be six feet under. She knew it wasn't because of his teasing, although it's not like that made her mood any better. In all honesty, Weiss didn't really know what her problem was at the moment. She was fine up until her study time. The material wasn't hard, and she wasn't frustrated because she understood it perfectly. Someone asked her out, some flower named boy that looked like if you bought Neptune from the dollar store, and she got the wonderful privilege of rejecting him.

She wondered how twisted a person would have to be in order for them to get a small sense of euphoria every time they felt superior to a person, but that was for a later time. 

"Seriously though, are you alright?" Pyrrha wore the concerned look she usually did when she felt a friend needed help. How did Weiss even get a friend like her? Like any of her friends? 

"I'm fine. Just some idiot who wanted to 'turn me straight'." With a roll of her eyes, she continued eating. 

"Fucking prick."

"Coco! Language!" Leave it to Pyrrha to forget that they're all practically adults and can say whatever the hell they want. 

"Sorry, Mom." That got a laugh out of everyone at the table, including Weiss. It has always been a running joke of theirs that Pyrrha was the mom friend in their little group. She always had sunscreen and tissues with her, as well as water bottles and snacks in her car. 

"Then maybe you need some of that sweet, sweet lady lovin' to remind you exactly how gay you are. You can think of it like a detox." Again, if looks could kill, Neptune would have been dead a while ago. And revived, because of course Weiss couldn't leave him to die without giving him a piece of her mind.

"Weiss, he might be right. Let's face it. Honey, you're more pent up than a bad nun at a strip club." Weiss' face went red, but her glaring continued. 

"No need to get mad, Weiss, really it's okay. Real talk, you're a virgin, right?" A nod. "Okay, so then when's the last time you've had just some _alone time_?" As much as Weiss hated this conversation, she knew her friends were just trying to help. Plus, maybe they were on to something. 

"I'm not sure," said the quiet, slightly embarrassed voice. "Whenever I'm at home it's either school work, paper work, or events. I'm always so busy that by the time I'm in bed with some free time I'm exhausted. There's also always someone home, even if it's not my family. The last thing I need is for the help to tell father of my wrong doings and get called a sex freak." 

"That's a tough one. I'm sorry girl." Neptune looked at her sympathetically. They all knew a bit of the high expectations and cruel words Weiss experiences, knowing that being called a 'sex freak' would have an underlying layer of toxicity. "I mean, how late does the help even walk around your wing? Maybe if you're quiet and lock the door or something?" Weiss knew Neptune was just trying to help. He received a shrug. 

He then noticed that Weiss looked up at something beyond their lunch table and scowled. When he subtly turned around to look, he saw none other than Ruby 'We don't know her last name yet'. Neptune and Coco liked to call her Weiss' libido savior, LS for short whenever they were talking about her in public. 

The entire table noticed the sudden shift in her mood, practically seeing the dark reds and purples radiate from her body to indicate anger. Maybe Weiss did just get a second period this month.

\------------------------------------------------

If Weiss had to rate how her day went yesterday, it would be a solid three. After the study room and lunch, Weiss was pissed, and not just the irritated pissed. Weiss was the 'if you so much as look at me wrong I will ruin you for the rest of high school' kind of pissed. Many people seemed to notice as well. Her friends were a bit quieter, keen on giving her space. People in the hallways have avoided eye contact and parted quicker than the red sea in order to make a path for her. 

People also seemed to notice that her mood only continued to worsen the next day. 

Blake also seemed to notice, seeing as she decided to sit next to her in AP Language again. For what reason, she does not know. Her and Blake have never been the best of friends, practically not friends at all. Both could appreciate having intellectual conversations with one another when it came to being partnered up for a project, but that's about as far as their relationship went. 

But Weiss has been noticing recently that Blake has taken more of an interest in her. Looking at her more, and now sitting next to her for the second time. Maybe the girl was obsessed with her? 

There had to be a reason she was sitting next to the heiress again. Weiss soon received that reason in the form of a small folded piece of paper being slid onto her desk.

' _Why were you glaring at Ruby during lunch yesterday?_ ' Of course. Of. Fucking. Course. Why would she think that it would be any other reason but Ruby? Weiss internally laughed at herself as she visibly crumbled the note and put it in her bag. There was no looking at Blake. Not when she feels like she has enough rage inside of her body to set someone on fire with her eyes. 

Because of course, everyone thinks she has some....some _crush_ like a school girl. She. Does. Not. Like. Ruby. She never has. She never will. She might like girls, but she has standards for God's sake. 

Weiss failed to notice the fact that Blake never said anything about a crush, making that thought one hundred percent her own.

Weiss decides not to go to the library today. The only reason, obviously, being that she needed a break from studying. Her mood is just because she's stressed about school. 

The young albino makes her way to the courtyard in hopes of clearing her head. She decided to walk around campus once making her way to the quad. A trip to the gardens will do her some good. 

She steps are not hasty, she is calm and collected. Slowly forgetting about her life's worries as she takes in breaths of fresh air. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. She can feel the tension and anger leave her body with every calming breath.

'This is nice.' She thinks as she continues to travel to the gardens. She makes her way inside the maze-like design of hedges, continuing with her smooth, calming breaths. She needed this. The silent sounds of nature and solitude surrounded her and weighed down her thoughts.

This is what she needed. For some reason the past couple of weeks have been exceptionally stressful, she hadn't had any time to relax.

Odd, right?

But all that matters is that she's relaxing now. No school work. No studying. No reminders of Ru-

"Velvet, please." The voice was coming from the center of the gardens, and whoever it was sounded quite whiny. 

"Why do you even want one, no one's even going to see it." So it was the quiet mousy girl. Weiss rolled her eyes at her own thought, who else goes to Beacon and is named Velvet? 

"I'm going to see it." The mystery girl's voice defended. "I just want to look at your pretty face wherever I go."

"Coco, that's creepy." Weiss could practically hear the eye roll in the Australians voice. Wait, Coco? 

Weiss knew she shouldn't be doing this. She reasoned with herself in her brain that this was both bad and wrong, so why was she inching closer in order to get a peak on what has already been confirmed by the two voices themselves? Obviously because she didn't believe anything she didn't see with her own eyes.

Of course, what she already knew was now set in stone in her mind as she rounded the corner to see Velvet and Coco sitting together on a bench in the garden's center. Velvet had a small blush on her face, most likely due to the fact that once, Coco wanted to take her picture, and two, because Coco basically said she wanted to look at the girl all of the time. 

The former was sporting her trademark smirk, happy to see that she was able to make her companion flustered (not that it was that hard to begin with, but still!). Weiss quickly hid again, eager to not be seen spying on her friend and.....Velvet. 

Why were they hanging out in the first place? Were Coco and Velvet friends or something? That would be the first thought in Weiss' mind if it weren't for the close proximity of the two girls in question.

During a late night talk, Coco had revealed to Weiss that she had an infatuation with the young Australian, but that's all Weiss thought it was, a silly crush. Weiss didn't judge her for it, in fact, during her sleep depravity, Weiss had even told her to go for it. Velvet wasn't weird or nasty, just a bit shy. Her friend group wasn't even that bad now that Weiss thought about it, it was just that they were the social outcasts. 

Velvet was sweet and smart, Weiss also had to admit she was quite beautiful. She had heard nothing but good things about the girl, she wasn't even sure there was a bad bone in her body, so why did the sight of seeing the two together fill her with rage? 

She didn't want to break anything or yell at anyone, but it was clear to her in her mind that she was angry. She had never felt this type of anger before, so why was she feeling it now?

She should be happy for her friend, right? 

Yes. 

The answer was yes, she was happy for Coco. She was happy her friend had found someone to laugh with and to be herself around, whether they were just friends or not. 

She was happy for her. 

Why was she still mad? 

She just told herself less than ten seconds ago she was happy for her friend, and she meant it too. Really, she did. 

Maybe she should just go on a run or something when she gets home to work off some steam. She should go to the gym actually, she could fence too. Yes. Perfect. Work off all of this anger that she has for some reason that is definitely not because of Ruby or because her friend has found a possible significant other. 

Wait, if she was happy for Coco, does that mean it would be okay if she and Ruby were to-

No. She shoved that thought as far down in her mind as she possibly could. Ruby had nothing to do with this. 

God, she couldn't wait to just go home.


	5. Stage 3: Bargaining

"We should go shopping." 

"Weiss, it's four in the afternoon, on a Thursday." Coco's deadpan voice rang through the receiver. Weiss had spontaneously called the girl after pacing around in her room. She didn't know what made her anxious, but she wanted to go out and _do_ something. And she didn't really want to be alone, but she wouldn't just admit that to someone. 

"If you don't want to, it's fine. Just thought an invite would be appreciated or whatever." Coco immediately recognized the entitled backtracking as one of Weiss' defense mechanisms. She knows that Weiss is too high and mighty to admit that her feelings are hurt by someone, or that someone has effected her negatively. She also knows that most of Weiss' confidence is a façade and that her bitchiness is just pent up emotion the albino doesn't know how to express properly. 

"No, no. It was just a strange time, I'm not refusing. Just us like old times, or have you already invited other people?" Just like old times. That statement seemed to linger in the air. Weiss and Coco were childhood friends, Weiss actually confessed to Coco almost a year after they met, saying that Coco had been Weiss' first friend. They were ten at the time. 

Apparently the people Weiss' parents introduced to her were not suitable to be her friend, according to Weiss. They'd met completely on accident, bumping into one another at one of Coco's mother's fashion shows. Weiss' parents had deemed Coco acceptable company simply due to status, meaning Weiss hanging out with Coco would not embarrass the Schnee name in any way. 

They had hung out as much as possible, mostly at the Adel's place of residence for...reasons. Reasons Coco has heard bits and pieces of, some on accident some not, so she wasn't fully aware of Weiss' home situation. 

From what she's gathered, Weiss' sister had run away, leaving the Schnee family name in the dust. She still comes to visit Weiss, but her path was one carved of her own. Now, she's a successful special operative in the Atlesian military, and Weiss had expressed many times how proud and grateful she is to have such a wonderful sister, even if Coco thinks that she's a bit non-expressive. 

She knows that Weiss is set to inherit her family's company, seeing as Winter wasn't in position to do so. She also knows that Weiss' father holds her to unreasonable and unobtainable expectations, something that really messed with her psyche.

"Just," a huff, "Just like old times, if that's okay?" Weiss was asking her for comfort, of course! No wonder she had asked at an odd time. Maybe something happened at home and she wanted to get away? 

"Yeah, that's more than fine. I'll pick you up in 15?" 

"Sounds reasonable. See you then." With that, Coco was left with the single beep signifying the end of the call. She got up off of her bed, stretched, and proceeded to put some clothes on. Not that she was naked or anything, Coco just preferred to lounge around in a sports bra and joggers. 

She put on an outfit that the public would deem acceptable for the fashionista, before grabbing her car key and signature sun glasses. They were a gift from Weiss on her thirteenth birthday, and the girl has gone out of her way to wear them at every possible opportunity just to mess with the Schnee. Plus, she looked damn good in them if she did say so herself.

\-------------------------------------

The trip to Weiss' house was short an uneventful. When she arrived, she was met with a closed gate, which quickly opened once her reason for visiting was stated, the last thing the staff want to do is upset 'Miss Schnee.' Coco rolled her eyes at the thought. Weiss barely relied on the staff when Coco was present, and had firmly reassured her that she hardly uses the staff in the first place. 

Her brother, on the other hand, is a different story. But we don't have time to get into that right now. 

Weiss exited the house just shortly after Coco had paused in the middle of the circular driveway, right in front of the front doors. If Coco was being honest, Weiss didn't look...the greatest.

Don't get her wrong, Weiss looked beautiful in her blue long sleeved button-up that was tucked into her white box pleat skirt. To the untrained eye, she looked amazing. Coco knew better than to trust the outfit and the makeup though. Weiss looked tired. Tired and confused. Actually, the closer Weiss got to the car, Coco could see a plethora of different emotions, all layered and caked onto one another in hopes of disguising them.

Weiss usually hid her emotions quite well, trained to wear a mask since she was born. That mask might as well be nothing more than a thin layer of primer on Weiss' face when it came to Coco, seeing as the girl could see through it every time. Honestly, Weiss was under the impression Coco had telepathy. 

When Weiss got into the car, she gave Coco a small smile, one holding underlying relief. 

Coco had been there for Weiss whenever she needed her. She was there when Weiss was spilling her tears when Winter had left. She was there for her when Weiss had her first panic attack, seemingly overwhelmed by her new duties as heiress. She was even there for her when Weiss' father had begun to pick out potential suitors for Weiss, and in the spur of the moment, kissed her so that Weiss' first kiss wouldn't be with some stranger. 

She apologized profusely as soon as it was over, and Weiss had accepted her apology. A month later Weiss had come out to her. Coco's response to Weiss being gay had been 'Oh my gosh, dude same!' They were sixteen at the time. Weiss and her still laugh about it. 

The car ride had been relatively silent. Coco had thought it to be best to leave the approaching to Weiss. If she wanted to talk about it, Coco would be more than willing to listen. If she just wanted a distraction, Coco was more than willing to provide that as well.

\---------------------------------

The shopping trip had been uneventful as well. Coco, being the amazing friend she is, tried her absolute best to get Weiss to smile. She even paired a polka dot shirt with vertically striped pants, and _tried them on_ when she asked Weiss to wait by the changing rooms for her in one of the many stores they visited. 

Weiss had let out a poorly disguised laugh, and onlookers tried their best to look away. 

Spoiler alert: their best wasn't very good. 

They talked about nothing and everything. Weiss had asked her what she was going to do for their history assignment Oobleck had assigned them. Coco had briefly discussed a small change she wanted to make to their newest routine.

But then, things got a little less light-hearted. 

"Hey, so..." Weiss began, trailing off not sure how to ask the question. They had been looking at clothes on the rack, before Coco stopped to give the shorter girl her full attention. "I just want to start by saying that I'm not mad or judging or anything," this got a confused look from the fashionista, "But I was just wondering what's going on between you and Velvet? I saw you guys in the gardens together the other day and I was just wondering if you've made your move on her yet." 

If Weiss could see her eyes, they would look wide and surprised. Coco was not expecting that in the slightest. She could feel her cheeks heat up at the thought of making her 'move' on Velvet. 

"Umm, not exactly." Coco looked over at Weiss to see her eyebrow quirked, an indication that she was waiting for more of an answer, but not so much that she was willing to pull it out of her. "Her and I, uh, are getting closer as friends right now." Coco let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Well, that's a good thing." Weiss voice didn't express much emotion, not that it usually did. She held up a shirt to her body before putting it back on the rack. "Have you been able to decipher whether your feelings were purely because of her looks or if they run deeper than that?" Weiss, once again, turned to look at Coco. 

"All I know is that right now I want to get to know her better. I love the way her mind works, and believe it or not, for such a quiet girl she has a lot to say." It was weird for them to have a conversation like this in the middle of a store. Silently picking up on that, the two girls exited the shop and made their way to the food court. Weiss had opted to get a lemon blueberry smoothie, while Coco decided to get a latte. 

The two girls looks a table near the end of the food court and sat in silence for a few moments. 

"So, do you think that there's a chance to pursue the relationship between the two of you?"

"I think that whatever happens happens. Even if she and I don't get involved romantically, she's still someone I want around. I'm not kidding when I say that she has a lot to say. She's supportive of racial rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and she's even mentions disability rights before. Even if my advances are rejected, I have no doubt in my mind we'll stay friends." Coco looked down and smiled before taking a drink of her coffee. 

"You're quite smitten over her. Has _the_ Coco Adel finally been tamed?" The playful smile that danced it's way to Weiss' face had indicated that the shock she seemed to exhibit, was in fact, fake.

"Honestly, I think so." Coco looks up at Weiss and takes off her sunglasses. "Weiss, I've never felt this way about anyone before. This, this infatuation, this pull. It's weird, but like, a good weird." As much as the fashionista loved her albino friend, she still knew that the other girl could be judgmental. She's never told anyone this and sharing your feelings can be, well, scary. 

"Coco," The shorter girl pulls her hand up and puts it on top of the brunettes, "As long as you're happy, I'm happy. No one's getting hurt, and there's no intention to do so, meaning that I support whatever decision you make one hundred percent. As long as you believe it to be the right choice. As you know I'm labeled as a grade A bitch, but that's only because I tell people the truths they don't want to hear. I wouldn't lie to you, especially not about something as big as your feelings."

"I, thank you. Truly." Coco hid her smile behind her cup. The two may have been close, but being close doesn't always make baring your feelings any easier. "And just so you know, I'd support you the same way." Coco tried to focus on Weiss' reaction, but the young albino didn't seem to have a visible reaction to the comment, other than a hum of affirmation. 

That was, however, far from the case inside her head. Her thoughts were screaming, each one contradicting the next. 

'Do you think she knows?'

'There's no way she does.'

'But she could.'

'There's not even anything to know.'

'Really? We're still on that?'

'We aren't on anything, since there's nothing to know.'

Weiss was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize Coco had been staring at her. Turns out she did have a notable physical reaction, and unconsciously gave herself away to Coco. God, the coffee lover couldn't wait until Weiss became more comfortable about it, so she could start teasing her to no end without making her feel bad. 

In the midst of her distraction, Weiss also failed to notice Coco pull out her phone and discreetly text their other closest friend. 

[Caffeine Addict] 

Operation LS is a go. I think Weiss might have it baddddd

  
[King of the Sea]

oooo gurl yessss  
im headed over to hang out with Blake and Sunny  
Yang will prob b there too

[Caffeine Addict]

Good good.  
Try to get them on board  
We need people on the inside

  
[King of the Sea]

way ahead of you chica  
Blake and Weiss were passing notes in class the other day  
Blake no doubt knows and wants go help

[Caffeine Addict]

That's amazing news  
Have fun hoe

  
[King of the Sea]

of course  
bye bitch<3

She looked up from her phone to find Weiss on hers. Maybe she wasn't as discrete as she thought she was, but Weiss wouldn't know who she was talking to or what she was saying. Good think she took off her glasses earlier. Otherwise, that was going to become a disaster.

Before they know it, they had both finished their drinks. The two girls had got up to throw away their trash and started heading out. 

But, a few moments before the door, Weiss had said that she wanted to go into a shop near the exit. It was a darker looking store, not something she thought she'd ever see Weiss enter. But there she was, currently making her way through the entrance of _Hot Topic_. 

Coco may be able to guiltily admit that she's been inside the store before, but that's only because she was looking. She surely didn't buy anything from the tacky dweeb store. Especially not some Harley Quinn high top Convers that she doesn't want to talk about, along with a Harley Quinn x Ivy pin. Especially not those things. Definitely not. No Sir. No Ma'am. No Mx.

Okay, in her defense, Harley Quinn is so badass. And she's been looking forward to some more LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Especially in the main characters, that don't die. So sue her for liking the pairing. 

She too made her way into the shop, curious as to why Weiss had entered in the first place. By the time she found her, the shorter girl was already paying and grabbing her bag of purchased goods. The bag was hard to see through, and she had her sunglasses on in a dark store, so she couldn't really see what Weiss had bought. 

She hid the bag among the few she already had, making it so any passerby couldn't see that she had went into that...that _store_. Seriously, what was wrong with her. She had enough money to by the store if she wanted to. Not that her father, or her sister for that matter, would support such a wretched decision. She's honestly ashamed of herself for giving into impulses and making a reckless decision. 

\--------------------------------------

The drive home was also, seemingly, uneventful. Well, all up until the end. 

Coco had pulled up into the driveway, both girls unbuckled and gave each other a hug, not really minding that the center console made things a bit awkward. Things were fine, up until Weiss got out and grabbed her bags in a way that gave Coco a view of some of the items. 

'Since when did Weiss wear red?' 

Before anything could be said, Weiss had bid her farewells once more before closing the door and making her way to the front entrance of her house. Coco, confused, drove off so that she could go home and do her homework.

\-------------------------------------------------

Weiss had made it to her room with little to no trouble. One of the staff members had asked if she would like assistance with her bags, something she declined quickly and made her way to her room. Not that it was unusual for her to decline assistance offered by the house staff. It made her uncomfortable to rely on other people, especially strangers who had no business prying their noses into her life. 

She set her bags down near her bed and made her way to the bathroom that was connected to her room. There she took off her makeup and prepared a shower. Once the mirrors were sufficiently fogged, se got undressed and stepped under the water. Her eyes closed as the warm water began to cascade down her body, effectively heating the surface of her skin.

She grabbed her favorite shampoo, a vanilla scented soap that Winter had gotten her for her birthday one year, and began to lather it in her hands before bringing them up to her hair. The sweet smell of the soap had begun to permeate throughout the bathroom, creating a gentle cloak of the fragrance. 

Showers were one of her favorite parts of the day. People would always say that in the shower their thoughts ran wild, but for Weiss it was more like a therapy session. She didn't have to think about anything. All she needed was the water, the feeling of the warmth hitting her skin. The soothing smell of her soap. And unlike mirrors, Weiss didn't need to see her face in the shower. Instead she could just look down at her body without any reminders of the past. 

Maybe that's why she liked warm showers so much, the reminder that she was able to feel something. The lack of mirror visibility made it hard for her to become wrapped up in her thoughts. She was thankful for that. 

She quickly finished up her shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and grabbed her hairdryer. After thirty painstaking minutes of holding the airgun to her hair, she made her way to her room to change into her sleepwear. Tonight however, there was a small change in the routine. Instead of opting for her usual sleepwear, a silk nightgown, Weiss opted for something...newer. 

Grabbing one of the shopping bags, Weiss emptied the contents to reveal a familiar red hoodie. She doesn't really know why she bought it. Scratch that, yes she does. She just doesn't want to admit to herself the real reason. 

For being found in that low quality store, the hoodie sure was soft. A thick enough to keep her warm. And maybe reminded her slightly of a certain nerd that recently re-dyed the tips of her hair causing it to be a more vibrant red. But that was besides the point. Weiss got this because it looked comfortable. That was the only reason. Just comfort. Only comfort. Definitely not because she desired that comfort from someone. No, she was fine on her own. 

She didn't even want the comfort of another human being. She didn't want it and she didn't need it. 

Yeah, because that was believable. Maybe it was for her at the time, but ignoring her true feelings had always been her specialty. 

After the teen had put on the hoodie (and underwear of course) she tried to tuck in for the night. Too bad her anxiety would tie her thoughts in knots. Maybe she should just take another shower. 

\----------------------------------------------

"Wait, you're sure Weiss likes Ruby?" 

"Honey, please. My girl has been so wrapped up in her own thoughts about it I'm starting to think she's, like, going through the five stages of grief or something." Neptune, Sun, Blake, and Yang all sat together on the floor in Blake's living room. They had been having fun and hanging out for hours, but now was time for Neptune to work his magic. 

"Who would have thought the Ice Queen would fall for the little nerd." Sun let out a laugh as their head fell back, causing a dramatic eyeroll from Blake. 

"I'm not sure her feelings go as deep as to say that she's fallen for her yet. She was in hardcore denial last time I tried to talk to her about it." Blake got up, saying she was going to be right back, before heading upstairs in a rush.

She came back down the stairs, practically silently, with a small piece of paper in hand. She handed the note to Yang, which got passed around until all three occupants had read it. 

_'There is no deal with Ruby. Nothing is happening. Even if something was happening, it wouldn't work. I have a reputation to uphold.'_

"I tried to pass her a note again last week, but she was not having it."

"Oh, so you're the reason she was so pissed. Seriously, sometimes I think she's nothing but a little ball of anger ready to rip the heads off of anyone who comes near her."

"Heads?" Sun questioned, wondering why a person would have multiple heads. 

"Some douche made the comment that Weiss just 'needed a good dicking' when someone had said something homophobic about me and I swear she was going to rip his dick off had Pyrrha not stopped her. So yeah, _heads_." Neptune gave them a wink before looking back at the black and yellow duo. "So, are you in?"

"I don't know." Yang trailed off. Was she really going to try and get her little sister together with someone? _Weiss_ of all people?

"As much as I hate to say this, Ruby does need a little more grit to her. From what I've heard, Weiss doesn't have it out for Ruby, like at all. And not only has she been...civil towards her, but she defended her. Surely that earned Weiss some points." Blake chimed in. 

"Weiss might be a bitch, but at least what she's saying is true. Like, come on, she's not a bully or anything. She just..." Sun trailed off, looking for the right word. They looked down for a second before putting their finger up dramatically. "She just doesn't have a filter!"

Neptune and Blake both nodded their heads in agreement. 

"Ugh, fineeee." Sun and Neptune let out cheers. "But if at any point, I feel like this won't turn out well, we stop. Understand?" 

There were hums of affirmation all around and Neptune pulled out his phone, texting Coco the good news. 

"Alrighty crew, operation LS is a go!" The group of teens looked determined, before Yang spoke up. 

"Wait, what does LS mean?"

"Nothing!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting you know that I'm taking requests!! 
> 
> You can email me or DM me the prompt and the length! Payment will be via PayPal 
> 
> Email: tjaz0909@gmail  
> Twitter: @tatumanderson0  
> Instagram: @tjaz0909
> 
> 1k-2k: $2
> 
> 3k-5k: $4
> 
> 6k-10k: $8
> 
> >10k: Will be discussed 
> 
> If it's NSFW that will also be discussed
> 
> Word length may vary, meaning you might get a little more or possible a little less than requested, however that will not change the price. Meaning if you request a 5k and it becomes 6k it will still be $4. Payment will be transferred before the request is started.
> 
> There are chances I will deny a request. That could be for a number of reasons, such as the pairing makes me uncomfy (incest or like a 14 y/o x 22 y/o), I haven't seen the show, if it's NSFW and the request isn't something I'm willing to write, etc.


	6. Stage 4: Depression

What the fuck was wrong with her? Seriously. What. The. Fuck. After her conversation with Coco last Thursday, Weiss should be happy for her, right? Coco was her best friend, together through thick and thin and all that other crap. 

She was happy for her at first, that hasn't changed. 

Right? 

Of course it hasn't changed, she is happy that her friend is happy, but why isn't she as happy as she should be?

_'Maybe because you want a relationship like that too'_

No. Shut up. Weiss is perfectly happy now. Just as things are. Nothing more. Nothing less. So why did she barely get out of bed this weekend? Why did she decide to not come to school on Monday? Why is it now Tuesday and she's still in bed after her alarm had gone off ten minutes prior?

If Weiss was being honest, which she already was so there's no need to question her, she _is_ happy for Coco and she wishes her the best of luck. But, some not-so-deep, twisted part of her feels sad? angry? knowing that Coco is pursuing a relationship with someone of a lower status. That's not how it should be, right? Royals date royals. Peasants can have whatever leftovers there are. 

That's what she was always told. Why does that feel wrong? Why does that sound wrong?

Another five minutes go by. Weiss hasn't budged from her spot on the bed.

Why should she have to move in the first place? Her classes weren't going anywhere. She probably knew 90% of the material taught due to the failing public schooling system. Why was she even going to a public school anyways? She has enough money to buy the school without making a dent in her savings. 

Maybe she should just buy the school. That's a fun thought. Buy the school and fix everything wrong with it. A perfect oasis for her to rule. No more stupid Cardin Winchester. No more Henry Marigold. No more stupid homophobic math teacher that she _knows_ had it out for her. 

No more stupid freshman who didn't know their places. No more stupid loud cafeterias. And no more stupid status that causes her to be held to a higher standard than most making it impossible to do the things she wants to do due to the fear of becoming rejected and outcast and hated by everyone and- 

Fuck. She was crying. 

It's been 20 minutes since her alarm has gone off. 

She has a little over an hour to get ready now. Good thing she took a shower the night before.

She walked into her bathroom in nothing but a hoodie and underwear. The red hoodie was incredibly loose on her frame, the only features present are the start of her shoulders and the small curve of her breasts. The crimson of the hoodie contrasted with her skin, making her look more pale than she was. It brought the blue out of her eyes, and it complimented her scar. The faded pink matching perfectly with the boldness of the hoodie, simultaneously drawing attention to and away from her scar. 

She could still see the streaks of tears on her skin. Her face looked neutral, her eyes like stone. She took the hoodie off. Her eyes no longer looked as bright as she wanted them to be. She scar now looked more present on her skin, no longer complimenting her. That scar. That stupid. Stupid. Scar. 

She brought up her hands to wipe the newly forming tears from her face. She tried to blink them away, but that just caused more to fall. She gently ran her thumb across her cheeks. She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. Her hand cupped her face and she sighed. 

The color red was still present in the back of her mind. A color so warm it depicts rage. But this red wasn't angry. This red was warm. A comforting warm. It was soft too. Soft like the inside of her new hoodie. Soft like the red tips of someone's newly dyed hair. 

Weiss opened her eyes again. Honestly, the sight was pitiful. Weiss Schnee, drowning in her sorrows in her bathroom as she thinks about the color red and weighs the consequences on if she should skip another day of school or not. 

Skipping school would be easier. It really would be. But she can't leave Coco to be in charge of the squad by herself. She's also afraid of leaving Neptune and Coco alone for a long amount of time. Lord knows how much trouble the two would get in without her. 

Weiss lets out another sigh, quickly doing what she can in order to make herself look like less of a hot mess.

If she was being honest, her clothing choice was a bit lackluster. She wore skinny jeans and a white button up blouse. She tucked the blouse into her jeans before putting on a belt. She put on some white lace up vans and called it a day. If it was up to her, she would be in joggers and a bra and she would be at home. If she didn't have to keep up appearances so often, she would be in white jeans and a blue turtleneck. 

But it wasn't up to her. It never was. She has been and always will be forced to be the people pleaser. The trophy for the family name. Maybe she should start toning down her outfits. The people she attempted to impress on a daily basis probably didn't know the difference between rayon and silk. 

As she put on her makeup, she began to second guess her outfit. 

_'Is the chic look too much?'_

_'Are you an idiot? First of all, it's modern chic. And second of all, you're Weiss Schnee. You're supposed to be over the top. You're expected to be. If word got out to your father that you went to school dressed like nothing other than the best, who knows what would happen._

_'Yes, I'm aware.'_

How insane was she for having a conversation with herself in her head? God, she really was loosing it wasn't she. It's bad enough she missed a day of school yesterday. And for what? To mope around for no apparent reason. 

_'There is a reason and you know it.'_

_'Shut up.'_

Maybe she was insane. 

Before she knew it, she heard the gate to the manor being opened. A few seconds later, there was a honk of a car. She quickly grabbed her backpack and made her way to the front of the house. 

Usually Coco doesn't pick her up, but she got a text yesterday asking where she was. When she replied with "Just taking some me time," Coco insisted that she take her to school the next day. 

She had no need to, of course. Seeing as Weiss had a plethora of resources at her disposal, as well as a car of her own. 

But Coco was relentless and would not take no for an answer. 

She soon saw why as she made her way to the car. In the backseat was Neptune and Pyrrha.

"Long time no see, Bitch. Seriously, you've been like a ghost town." Weiss was greeted my Neptune's voice as soon as she opened the passenger door. After sitting down, she looked at him through the rearview mirror, trying her best to glare at him. Her heart just wasn't in it.

Neptune gave her a look, like his eyes were searching for something. She looked away, unsure of how much she wanted her friends to know. She got buckled and the car exited the manor gates. 

"Oh!" Pyrrha's voice broke the silence. "We brought you coffee." She was handed a cold brew coffee, black of course. She took the beverage with a small smile and began to drink it.

The car ride became silent again. Weiss was contempt just looking out the window as she sipped on her coffee, not too enthusiastic to go to school in the first place. Odd considering she quite enjoyed it most of the time. It's just that lately something's changed. She thinks she knows what it is, but she's not sure. 

Scratch that, she is sure. Now is not the time to admit it. Now is the time to sit in bed in a hoodie and binge watch Netflix. But she can't do that. Because she's in a car. On the way to school. 

Why was she here again? Oh, right. Because no matter how much she wants to, Coco won't let her throw a pity party for herself. 

When people look at Coco, their first thought is always that she's just some stuck-up rich fashionista with too much time and money on her hands. That can be true at times, but in actuality she's pretty down to Earth. Not only that, but she's perceptive as hell.

So perceptive, if fact, that Coco knew what was going to go down before Weiss did. The second she was how Weiss acted in the lunchroom in order to protect Ruby, Coco knew it was show time.

She probably didn't even need to be as perceptive as she was to figure it out. Weiss' pale complexion made it easy to tell when she was flushed, whether it be from working out, anger, or embarrassment. It didn't take a detective to figure out why Weiss' cheeks were pink when she made her way back to the lunch table after handing Cardin's ass to him.

Plus, after their little shopping trip a couple of days prior, Coco did a bit of research- A.K.A. stalking Ruby's Instagram. After finding out that her and Yang were sisters, something she's sure Weiss doesn't know about, she looked up Ruby Xiao-Long. She didn't find anyone remotely similar to their Ruby, so she kept on digging. Neptune later reveled that her last name was in fact Rose. 

Her Instagram was primarily photos of her dog, food, nature, and family. However, there were the occasional workout pics, something she can't wait for Weiss to see. 

She knew that Weiss appreciated her own body and the work she puts into it. Meaning she _knows_ that Weiss will appreciate the work that the young Rose puts into her own body. She may not eat the healthiest - _'Blame it on my fast metabolism'_ one of her posts claims- but for a nerd she seems to be at the park quite often. 

From the looks of it, she works out with her sister. There was a video she posted on her story of her and Yang racing, the quarterback lagging behind the sprinting brunette as they both laugh out of pure joy. 

There were no pictures that reveled much of her body, but there were enough pictures for Coco to deduce that she enjoyed working out in muscle tank-tops. Her arms had enough definition to be noticeable, and from the small glimpses, her stomach looked defined as well. 

And if that wasn't enough proof of Weiss' gayness, there was the hoodie. The red hoodie didn't make sense when she saw it, Weiss never really wore red. Her father had made it very clear that the family was to look their finest at all times. Weiss happen to look good in blues and whites, as well as everyone else in her family. After looking at Ruby's Instagram, and the girl coming to school with the tips of her hair a vibrant red, things fell into place. 

Weiss must have been paying attention enough to the other girl to know that she liked the color red. That, and Weiss didn't own a hoodie. Not until the red hoodie that she bought at _Hot Topic_ , a store Weiss wouldn't be caught dead in. 

She knew she couldn't be pushy with Weiss, otherwise that would prolong the process. Weiss needed to come to her when she was ready and had things figured out for herself. That, and it wasn't really Coco's job to tell her what she was feeling.

She knew this was something Weiss needed to work out for herself in order to fully accept it. She knows that Weiss knows to come to talk to her if she wants or needs to, and for now that has to be enough. 

Coco doesn't really see what the problem with Ruby is. She understood that Weiss cared a lot about social status, something that could be brought down if Ruby and Weiss got together. But at the same time, Weiss is in charge enough to crush people on the heel of her shoes if they so much as look at her the wrong way. The worst part about this is that Weiss knows that she practically rules the school, she just doesn't want to risk it. 

If word got out that Weiss was no longer the best, there's a change things would go to hell. Maybe it's due to the fact that her father had "unintentionally" given Weiss a superiority complex, meaning that if things were to start going downhill now, Weiss would be in shambles.

Hell, it's not even like Ruby is one of the outcasts. She's just...there. Coco was surprised no one fawned over her or called her a nerd for skipping two grades, something she found out from their first meeting and Weiss' long rants about the young red lover. Instead everyone kind of just left the girl alone, except for Cardin. 

In fact, the lunch room incident might be the reason no one tried to antagonize the younger girl. Had Weiss not stepped in, there's a good chance it would have opened the door to a lot of unnecessary attention, something the girl looked uncomfortable with whether it be positive or negative.

When they got to school, it was uneventful. Weiss had visited each of her teachers first thing to get the school work she missed, hoping to try and get it done sometime today. 

Before she knew it, she was in her AP language class, something Weiss didn't want to have to deal with right now. She may like the class, but that doesn't mean she likes the work load. She's assigned another essay, _'Great'_ , and she -once again- ignores a note being passed to her by Blake. Seriously, does that girl ever learn? 

She doesn't want to talk with Blake, especially because of last time. In all honesty, she doesn't really want to talk to anyone at the moment. Why would she? She's in a piss poor mood for -seemingly- no reason.

She focusses her attention onto the board in the front of the classroom, but she can still feel Blake's eyes on her. She knows that the bow wearing girl wants to push and prod at Weiss until she gets the answers she's looking for, but Weiss isn't going to give her the time of day. 

Why did she even humor Blake with the note passing in the first place? Sure, Blake wasn't all bad once you got to know her, but that doesn't mean Weiss should be all 'buddy buddy' with her because Blake feels like talking that day. Especially not if she was going to be made a fool in regards to her feelings.

The last thing she needs is to be made a fool of, especially with her current mood. Well, there couldn't really be that much of a mood if Weiss wasn't in the mood for anything, but at this point, the only solution was to ignore everything. The sooner she can get through this day and get home means the sooner she can snuggle up in her soft hoodie and lay in bed. 

She can feel Blake's eyes shift back to her throughout class, something that would usually annoy Weiss to no end, but luck would be on the wannabe E-girl's side seeing as Weiss was too apathetic to care. 

After becoming lost in her own thoughts, she failed to realize that time had passed quicker than she could have hoped. The school bell was like music to her ears and she quickly packed up her things and left the classroom.

She didn't bother going to the library today, there was nothing to study. Her school work could wait since she was given extra time for it. Plus how much did she really need school at the moment? With the way she was feeling, she needed a bottle of vodka and some pizza and she would be set. 

Don't get her wrong, Weiss was not a heavy drinker by any means. She didn't really have anything against alcohol when in the right circumstances. After all, it's not like she could really blame her mother for trying to numb herself, Weiss would do the same if she was married to anyone remotely like her father. 

While the marriage isn't an excuse for her mothers declining presents, it sure as hell is an explanation. And as much as Weiss would like to go through her mind and unravel everything that could possibly be wrong with her home life, she didn't have the time. 

Now was the time for Weiss to put her headphones in, find a quiet place to sit outside, and just close her eyes. 

Neptune had found her leaning against a tree. He silently sat down with her, not wanting to disturb her more than his presents already did. She took comfort in knowing he was there for her when she was ready, and was glad that he didn't try to push her in any way. 

The two got up a couple minutes before the bell to go to Weiss' locker. The hallways were quiet and uncrowded. It made Weiss wish that they were like that all of the time. Weiss opened her locker with a sigh, just wanting to get this day over and done with. As she moved to grab her books, a small piece of paper fell out and made it's way to the ground gracefully. 

She bent down to pick it up.

_Hey, I noticed you didn't share a study room with me today, and Blake said you had been looking pretty down in class. Idk what happened, but I hope it gets better:)_ \- Ruby :P

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost at the end of the stages!!!! Can't wait for Weiss to accept her gay crush and be happy:)


	7. Stage 5: Acceptance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this got done earlier than I thought it would

So maybe she had the tiniest of crushes on Ruby.

You would too if the human version of a puppy came crashing into your life -quite literally- and continued to be her adorable self no matter what people thought. 

_'Ugh, adorable? Really?'_

Weiss was losing her touch fast. In all honesty, the signs were obvious. 

She didn't chew into the younger girl, as badly as she would have with someone else, upon their first meeting. She was quite surprised by the presents of silver eyes, a color she hadn't seen on someone else. No other eye color had ever been so vibrant or attention demanding. 

She, _the_ Weiss Schnee, granted her the pleasure of sharing a study room with her. While it was an unspoken rule, the young apparently genius was to leave Weiss alone while they were in the room together.

Weiss observed the younger girl when she was focused on her art work. She was quite skilled and Weiss noticed that she hardly ever erased something on the paper. Call it a vote of confidence, but to see someone turn mistakes and mess ups into something new and beautiful was eye catching to say the least. 

Weiss noticed that when Ruby was focused her tongue would poke out of her lips slightly. Her eyebrows would furrow in concentration and her eyes would light up when she had created something she was proud of. 

Weiss had defended her against Cardin Winchester, hiding behind the fact that he was a mere disturbance. Blake had seen through it. She knows Coco and Neptune had as well. 

She knows it should have been obvious sooner. No matter what she was feeling these past weeks, her thoughts always circle back to the girl. Her mind had been so occupied with her and swarming with negative feelings that she failed to see the simple truth. 

She had a crush on Ruby.

Simple as that.

But what does she even do with a revelation like that? She knows at one point she should tell her friends. At least to tell someone and get it off of her mind. Bonus if they actually want to help her.

But what would they be helping her with? Getting over it? Pursuing Ruby? She's not some love-sick puppy. But then again, Ruby is pretty adorable, so maybe there's some reason behind why Weiss is feeling the way she is. Plus, if it came down to it, Ruby would be the puppy based on how she acted. 

A cute, adorable, sweet, little puppy. Hot too. Maybe she would be obedient as well and Weiss could-

Wait, what?

No. Absolutely not. 

She may have just accepted the fact that she has a small crush on the girl, but she is in no way shape or form going down that road. She is a mature almost-adult and she will not succumb to such desires of a...a hormone driven teenager. She is better than that.

Is she? 

Of course she is. But she also knows that somewhere deep in her mind, there's a not-so-small part of her that wishes to have control over the one thing that's making her feel out of control at the moment. However, fantasies will be just that, fantasies. 

And now suddenly admitting her crush on a cute girl isn't as hard as she thinks. 

To just, succumb to desires and finally give in. How hard was that? It's not hard when she thinks about kissing Ruby 'We still don't know her last name' or giggling together or holding hands. 

But holding hands is done in public. And in public is where people can see you. What is people from school were to see them and suddenly everyone's eyes are on her for the wrong reasons? What if she's no longer HBIC and her junior year becomes one of the worst years of her life? Which in turn would roll over into senior year and by that time she would no longer want to step a foot in the building. Which would cause her grades to slip and she would lose her spot on the cheer squad.

And with nothing she would have to relinquish her position as heiress to her families company due to the fact that she would be underprepared because her grades were slipping. She wouldn't be able to get into a good college and her family would disown her for being more of a failure than she already is. She would have no funds and no chance at a higher education and would be forced to live on the streets and work a minimum wage job and-

A knock on her door interrupted her...sudden downward spiral. 

She cleared her throat and walked over to the door. She assumed that whoever was at the door would be one of the staff members hired to take care of the house, or perhaps (and hopefully not) her younger brother Whitley. However, when she opened the door, it was none other than her older sister Winter.

"Oh, um hi?" Suddenly all of her dignity and poise left her body in exchange for embarrassment and anxiety. This isn't the first time Winter has shown up unannounced and it most likely will not be the last. After she left, time with her older sister was rare. She was so wrapped up in her work and desperate to escape the clutches of their father that she did everything she could to stay absorbed in her work and climb the ranks in order to be independent and respected. 

But recently, that began to change. Now in a comfortable position, Winter has had more free-time. And more guts. Now willing to enter the dragon's lair in order to see her sister. Does that mean she still asks Klein if her father is out before she comes over so that she has time to mentally prepare herself? Yes. Yes it does. 

She knows that her father is aware of the fact that she has been coming to the manor recently, but she believes that he no longer cares about her or what she does. She's not the heiress anymore, which means all of the responsibility and expectations were gone. Now placed onto Weiss. She would be lying is she said she doesn't feel the slightest bit guilty, but she needed to do what was best for her. And she trusts that Weiss will do the same if she feels it. 

Now standing at her room door, watching her sputtering mess of a sister attempt to communicate with her through her surprise, she offers nothing more than a small smile.

Weiss silently moved aside to let her sister in before closing the door. When she turned around, she noticed Winter had already made her way to the bed and she began to do the same.

The silence was broken by Winter.

"Well, don't you look enthused to see me." The small smile on her face let Weiss know she was only poking fun, but she could tell that there was underlying concern.

"Yeah, sorry. I just," a sigh, "Have a lot on my mind at the moment." Weiss didn't look at her sister to gauge her reaction, she just kept her gaze directed at the floor. 

"Do you wish to share what has been troubling you? I admit, I was expecting light conversation over tea. However, I am not opposed if you wish to inform me about the heavier things going on in your life at the moment." 

"Do you promise that you won't laugh? Or say anything until I'm finished?" Weiss brought her feet up onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her legs. 

"I promise I will remain silent until you are finished and will refrain from finding it comical." Following Weiss' actions, Winter put a leg up on the bed and tucked her foot under herself in order to get into a more comfortable sitting position. She now faced Weiss, who still had her eyes locked on the floor.

"Okay, so," Weiss started, "There's this...person. That I like. In more than a friend way. I think. Like. I know I have a crush on them. But we haven't really talked. And the times that we did talk I was...rude. To them. But we see each other everyday and we share a study room in the library together. Which I kind of forced, but only because there were no there study rooms not because I'm some crazy stalker." 

"And for a bit I didn't want to admit that I liked he- um...this person. Because they're kind of weird. And loud. And just overall not the most mannered for a public setting. At first, I didn't want to admit it because of that. She's not that popular and hangs out with what the populous has deemed as more of the "out-casts". They aren't the weird out-casts though. Like a friend of hers, Blake, her and I talk sometimes. And Coco talks to Velvet and I think Pyrrha has a small crush on Jaune." 

"But father expects me to find some "well respected" man and become nothing more than a trophy wife. I don't want that. I want someone who's going to make me smile and make my heart feel all funny. Like in those movies you and I would watch when we were younger even though we weren't supposed to. But I don't think she likes me. I was rude to her and I haven't really apologized for it or anything. Except I did sort of, _maybe_ , defend her in the lunch room in front of the entire student body. Which now that I think about it, might have tipped Blake off in the first place...seeing as-" Weiss trailed off. 

Shit. She used the pronoun 'she'. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. Weiss wasn't even out to Winter yet. What if Winter was homophobic? What if she told their father? What if-

"Weiss. You're going to spiral again. Take a deep breath. Remember what we found online? In to four, hold it, and out to eight." Weiss did as Winter instructed, remembering that yes, she does need to breathe. Weiss felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to meet Winter in the eyes for the first time since the older girl had entered her room.

She looked...vulnerable. More so than Winter had ever seen her in possibly her entire life.

"So, um," Winter cleared her throat, "'She'? Is that a, um, new? Revelation or...?" Winter trailed off. She didn't want to make this awkward by any means, but this was... a bit hard to wrap her head around at the moment. 

"Kind of?" Weiss' cheeks were pink, whether it be from embarrassment or something else, she wasn't sure. "I've known that I was," she paused before starting again, "Gay since about last year? Father had been pressuring me with suitor after suitor and I was confiding in Coco about how I was afraid that my first kiss was going to be with some snobby rich douche who was going to take advantage of me. She ended up kissing me instead and it's a running joke now. But, after she kissed me, things just started to...make sense. In a manner of speaking." 

Winter listened intently. She was dead set on understanding Weiss both as a sister and as a friend. She had never heard that story before and she was glad that Weiss trusts her enough to confide in her the way she is now.

"But, the crush is new." She took a deep breath before continuing. "She's some prodigy, so she's two years younger. I want to say she's turning sixteen soon, but I'm really not sure. I don't really know much about her. She's in some engineering class I think. I also know she does art. And works out." The blush on Weiss' face continued to grow. "We haven't talked much. Mostly because it's my fault. But I know that I like her laugh. And her smile. And her kindness." 

Weiss saw that Winter's caring smile had turned into a smirk. Not one full of malice and scheming, more so one of smugness. 

"So, you like this girl, but you know nothing about her?" Weiss hesitantly nodded. She began to trail her eyes to the ground once more, but a hand on her shoulder prevented that. "Weiss," Winter began, "If you like this girl so much, wouldn't it make sense to attempt to form a relationship with her? Friend or otherwise. Don't let father or social standings get in your head. As long as she, or he, or they make you happy what's the issue? I'm aware that you just came out as gay, but that could change. Not in the sense that I'm implying the way you're feeling is a phase, but in the way that maybe you're still finding out more about yourself. And if it wasn't clear enough, your sexuality does not change how I see you as a person."

"To me, you are still the headstrong, stubborn, ambitious, 'let me always be the best', little sister you were born as. Thank you for trusting me, I saw how hard it was for you to say out loud. If I may touch on that for a moment, if you can't say it out loud, I'm not entirely sure you should be perusing a relationship quite yet."

"It's not that. Everyone at school already knows, since Cardin Winchester outed me last year."

"He did _what_?" 

"Well, not technically. Getting called a dyke one too many times and replying with _'So? I'm still getting more pussy than you.'_ will get the message across to some people." Weiss shrugged. She's not exactly mad that that was how she came out. In all honestly it was kind of badass. Neptune and Coco, both of whom already knew, were trying their hardest to keep their laughter inside when it happened. Between Weiss' satisfied smirk and Cardin's crestfallen face, it was needless to say that the brown and blue haired duo did not do well in containing their enjoyment of the situation.

Winter also had to fight to contain a smile. If there was one thing to note about Weiss, it would be that her quick retorts and wittiness were a force to be reckoned with. 

"Does father know?" Weiss shook her head slowly. Winter resisted the urge to roll her eyes at herself. Of course he wouldn't know. What kind of stupid question was that? Jacques Schnee was not known for his progressiveness nor his kindness. Unfortunately for him, no matter how much of a carbon copy Whitley was of their father, Weiss is, and most likely will always be, the most capable child of his to be the heir to the family company. 

Because unlike Whitley, Weiss is capable of her own thoughts. Unlike their mother, Weiss doesn't have to resort to desperate attempts to deal with her problems (that one might be debatable on a lesser scale, considering she did try to deny her feelings in an attempt to avoid the inevitable, but definitely not as extreme as their mother). Unlike their father, Weiss understands the concept between right and wrong and knows how to treat a human being like, well, a human being, kind of. She's getting better and while she is prone to snapping, her actions are not unjust for the most part. 

And finally, unlike Winter, Weiss wasn't a coward. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and she's not afraid to take over the responsibilities of becoming the heiress and changing the company for the better.

"Okay, then shall I get tea started?" Weiss stared at Winter, partially in shock and partially in confusion. Winter returned her look of confusion, but made no move to get up and start the tea. 

"So, that's it then? No advice? What am I going to do about her?" Weiss' mind raced with millions of questions, those three happen to be the only ones she could verbalize at the time. 

"Weiss, there's not much I can give you on this matter. I do not know this girl nor do I know how dating in high school works passed just shoving your tongues down each other's throats in the hallways. However, if you are in need of some advice I am most likely going to share the same words your friends did if you have already confided in them."

"For starters, be less rude or standoff-ish. If she doesn't feel she can approach you or talk to you, how will the two of you have a conversation? And secondly, talk to her too. You said you share a study room together? Comment on something she's doing or something that she's wearing. You're in a closed space, so you're not going to attract the attention of anyone else but her."

"Why do I have to _talk_ to girls to get a girlfriend?" Weiss whined as she fell face first into her pillow. This caused Winter to smile once more. While she's aware, Winter is the only person in their family that Weiss attempts to put her walls down for, there are rare moments like this that she appreciates. Weiss, not only choosing to confide in her, but also shutting out the years of formal training and manners their father had installed into them since practically day one.

Winter put a hand on her shoulder in silent reassurance, while Weiss continued to lay there. 

\----------------------------------------------

[Caffeine Addict]  
Alrighy bitches whats the plan

  
[King of the Sea]  
lets just lock them in a room together lmao

[Kitty Cat]  
Absolutely not. 

[Sunny]  
i like the room idea

[Fire Dragon]  
theres no way in HELL that im locking the icequeen and my baby sister together like that

[Caffeine Addict]  
Well we need to come up with something  
And soon

[Kitty Cat]  
Why?  
What happened?

[Caffeine Addict]  
Weiss is freaking out about being alone with Ruby  
And apparently Ruby left a note in Weiss' locker when she wasnt in the best of moods

  
[Sunny]  
is that a gud thing or a bad thing

[Caffeine Addict]  
Its a Weiss is in full gay panic mode thing  
And she bought a red hoodie  
Its bad

  
[King of the Sea]  
SHE DID NOT  
AIUESGHLDKJBGIERHTVNIU  
OMGGGGG  
THE BITCH DID  
CHECK HER INSTA

[Sunny]  
wow red looks really good on her

[King of the Sea]  
more like shes gonna look really good on red here in a few days

[Kitty Cat]  
oh please pillow princess couldnt even if she tried

[King of the Sea]  
oh hunny  
weiss is a service top through and through  
dont even try to tell me im wrong

[Fire Dragon]  
WE'RE TALKING ABT MY SISTER  
STOP IT  
just the throught of that makes me want to shrivel up 

[Caffeine Addict]  
Okokok  
Idea  
What if we just all went to the movies together  
And make sure they sit next to each other  
Yang and Blake can make fun of gay panic Weiss after  
And hopefully something happens

  
[King of the Sea]  
bitch youre a GENIUS 

[Sunny]  
sounds like a plan

[Kitty Cat]  
Sounds good to me. 

[Fire Dragon]  
as long as theres no more talk of my baby sister and weiss doing....that

[Caffeine Addict]  
Done

\------------------------------------

That night, the red and white duo fell asleep in their respective beds completely oblivious to the scheme their friends had just wrapped them up in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Winter bonding is literally the cutest thing to me just saying. That and now the gang has got a plan. Is it good? Is it bad? Who fucking knows??


	8. What Do We Do Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I did not give up on this fic I swear. Shit happened, it will be explained more at the end, but either way I hope you enjoy this chapter:)

"Come on! You haven't gone out with us for ages! Seriously, I love you, but if this keeps up I'm going to have to change your name in my phone from 'Ice Queen' to 'Hermit Crab'. And no one wants crabs."

"So? I've just been...busy?" Coco, Neptune, and Pyrrha all looked at Weiss with one eyebrow raised. It was the truth though! She has been busy! Busy in her head maybe. Her thoughts of Ruby were beginning to get out of control. Well, out of control for Weiss. She would be doing homework or reading a book, and magically the redhead would be on her mind. Weird how that works, right?

"Yeah, busy masturba-"

"Shut your mouth Neptune! I have done nothing of the sort." Coco and Pyrrha covered their mouths in order to try and contain their laughter. Coco more so. Weiss may not be able to realize it, but she can be read like an open book. It's true that she is amazing at wearing a mask, but Coco has known her long enough to know the truth. So, when Weiss got into her car this morning with a small blush on her face and a poorly masked look of guilt, Coco knew that was up. She would never tell Weiss that, someone had to be able to keep their secrets after all. 

Funnily enough, Coco wasn't too far off as to what would cause Weiss' guilt and blush, but unfortunately for her, she was wrong. 

\----------------------------------------  
_Weiss was sharing a study room with Ruby in the library. Like normal, the two girls were quiet, both focusing on their own tasks. Today was different though, because today was the day that Weiss had decided to be bold and do something about her little crush. And by bold, I mean she decided to sit one seat closer to Ruby, still on the opposite side of the table of course._

_She was on her laptop, reading through her English 101 textbook readings. She wasn't sure what Ruby was doing, weird since she's been looking over at the girl for minutes now. The latter hadn't seemed to notice, seemingly too wrapped up in...whatever it was she was doing. She had her stupid, large headphones over her ears, and Weiss could hear music slightly, not that it was much of a bother to her._

_Weiss continued to look at the other girl. In a totally not creepy was of course. She was just...admiring her and her work ethic. Yep. That's it. She's totally not looking at Ruby because she is one of the most effortlessly pretty girls that Weiss has ever seen. She also totally wasn't looking to see just how silver her eyes were. She wondered if they were just as expressive as the rest of her face. Weiss had noticed that when the girl was wrapped up in her work, she would burrow her eyebrows a bit. Not out of frustration, just out of concentration. Frustration resulted in puffed out cheeks and a bit of a scowl. If Weiss was being honest, it was adorable._

__

__

_Weiss continued to look at the girl, her English readings now forgotten. She obviously wasn't being as inconspicuous as she thought, because a few moments later, Ruby looked up. The two girls made eye contact, blue met silver. They stayed looking at one another as Weiss' cheeks became progressively more red. Ruby offered Weiss a small smile, and to both girls' shock, Weiss returned it. Weiss' question about Ruby's eyes was just answered, because at the return of her smile, Ruby's whole face seemed to light up._

__

_Then, the bell rang and interrupted whatever just happened. Weiss was frozen for a second, before recognizing that, yes, she did still have class after this. Weiss grabbed her things and left the room after Ruby. She may or may not have looked down at the girl's jeans._

_They were nice jeans, okay._

_She was even being sneaky about it too! Well, that is until Ruby turned to go to her locker and saw Weiss out of the corner of her eye. The girl in question couldn't look away fast enough. Ruby turned her head and met Weiss' eyes. The former sported a smirk, while the latter looked incredibly guilty. Weiss immediately walked away as fast a s she could._

_She had never been so embarrassed in her life! She was just caught staring at Ruby's....jeans. Yes! Just her jeans. Nothing weird about that. She just wanted to see the brand of them. They fit the girl quite nicely. The jeans hugged her legs in all of the right places without looking like they were squeezing her. Weiss could see just how muscular her legs were. Thank God she knew the younger girl was a runner, because if Weiss was caught off guard, she doesn't know what she would do._

_Well, she was caught a bit off guard. Not just from the jeans, but just from Ruby as a whole. Ruby, who she didn't thing could take anymore control from her, took her control. Took away her composure. Took away her rational thinking. Took away her ability to function as a human. And has been slowly taking away her ability to care about what other people think._

_It scared her._

_Weiss spent the entirety of her classes zoned out. It's not like she didn't know the material, so it was fine._

_At least she thought it was, but that was before cheer practice._

_In all honesty, she ended practice early for herself, not for the other girls who let out huffs relief and decided to leave as quick as possible in case Weiss changed her mind. Coco didn't bother asking Weiss what was going on, she knew the girl was having an internal battle with her feelings. Hell, she couldn't blame her._

_She was the same way with Velvet. Maybe not to the same extremity, but she understood enough to know what Weiss was going through. And while she could help the albino girl, she believed that this was something that Weiss needed to do herself. Maybe not all by herself, but she needs to realize on her own that there's nothing wrong with the way she feels.  
_

_Weiss was changing in the locker room. There was no way in hell she was driving home in her cheer uniform. She hated going to school in it if she was being honest. Does she have a great body? Of course. Is she willing to show it off? To some extent. Does she want to be objectified by creepy teen boys? No. Absolutely not. People knew she was gay, it's not a secret in any capacity. Teachers and students alike were aware that she likes girls. People didn't seem to care, which was honestly a relief._

_It was a nice change from her home life. Winter was the most open-minded of her family members, and she was still scared to tell her. She was glad her sister didn't think any different of her, and was even supportive in her 'pursuit' of Ruby. She wasn't really thinking about dating her. Maybe. The thought is nice._

_It really is. So imagine how startled she was when Ruby showed up in the locker room while she had her cheer top off. She thought it was Coco, she swears. The footsteps were approaching her row of lockers. There were no other practices today, and since she cancelled cheer, why would she think anyone would stay. Coco was the only plausible option for her brain. She was her Co-captain, and they often made plans for after school together, even if they were as last minute as this._

_The foot steps got closer, so she turned around, not caring to cover herself up. Why would she, it was Coco? At least, that's what her brain and logic told her. But no, the universe was cruel and out to get her._

_"Hey, Coco should we-" Blue eyes met silver. The locker room stilled. In all honesty, Weiss thought time itself stilled. The room was so quiet she's certain she could hear a pin drop. Neither girl broke eye contact, both too startled to really understand what was happening at the moment._

__

__

_Weiss felt her cheeks start to heat up. Curse her pale skin. Her stupid albino skin, that even now is causing her trouble. How dare it? Like honestly, can't a girl go one day without looking like a tomato._

_Ruby was the first to break eye contact. Weiss thought the younger girls' eyes were going to be glued to the floor, but again, the universe is cruel and hates her. Her eyes widened as she watched the silver eyes slowly trail down her body. She made no move to cover herself. Ruby dropped the bag she was holding, but the disturbance of silence did not grab Weiss' attention. The poor girl was too busy trying to piece together what the fuck was happening._

_Ruby was checking her out. Ruby was. Checking her out. Checking. Her. Out._

_"Holy fuck," the whisper certainly grabbed her attention. "You're even prettier than I thought you'd be. Oh my God." The girls made eye contact again, but from the looks of it, Ruby was closer to her than before._

_"Yeah, well, maybe don't underestimate me next time." Weiss was also whispering. Why? Who knows. Her snippiness didn't deter the red head, it never has. She moved closer again, and this time Weiss knows it's not her mind playing tricks on her. Weiss could now feel Ruby's breath on her lips. The girl was almost three inches taller than her at least, something the white haired girl notes with annoyance._

_"Don't worry, I don't plan on it." The girl's eyes drifted down to her lips and started to slowly close. Weiss didn't know what to do. Here she was, about to get kissed by her crush, in the locker room, shirtless. Fuck. Okay. Yeah. She could do this. Weiss followed suit and let her eyes drift shut. They were nose-to-nose now. One of them had to take the leap. Weiss moved forward and-_

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING_

Weiss shot forward in her bed.

She. Was. So. Screwed. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------

"Oooooh, you know what we should do?" Weiss raised an eyebrow at Neptune though the review mirror in the car. "We should go to the movies! And Weiss, before you say no, I would like to remind you of the time I went to the store and bought tampons for you because you were too lazy to move." 

"Too lazy? Periods hurt like a bitch Neptune!" A chorus of laughs filled the car as Weiss crossed her arms and huffed. "But you're right. It's been a bit since I went out with you guys. I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind."

Pyrrha touched her shoulder from the backseat. "Do you want to talk about it? I know it's right before school and these two" Pyrrha points her finger back and forth between Coco and Neptune, "Can come off as asswipes, but we're here for you if you need us." Weiss could practically hear the smile in the athletes voice. 

"I came out to Winter. She was really good about not making it this big deal, but I think I caught her off guard. I also told her that I have a small crush on someone, and she said not to care about what other people think and just go for it."

"God, I knew I was right for having her as my only straight crush." 

"Wait, you had a crush on my sister?" Weiss fully turned around in her seat to look at the blue haired boy. 

"Dude," he started, "I think all three of us had a crush on your sister." Sounds of agreement were made by the other two girls in the car. 

"Dude?" Weiss rolled her eyes. "I think Sun is starting to rub off on you." Weiss noticed her mistake a second to late. She watched Neptune smirk and before she could ask him to refrain he- 

"They're rubbing off on me in more ways than one, if you know what I mean." Neptune lifted her eyebrows suggestively and Coco reached her hand around to give him a high-five. Weiss turned back around and groaned. 

[King of the Sea]

Tell the girls Weiss said yes to the movies  
See you at school babe<3 

  
[Sunny]  
hell yeah  
ice queen and ruble abt to be so cute together  
this is wonderful  
im so fucking excited  
can we sit together at the movies  
see you soon!<3  


\-----------------------  
"Hey, Ruby!" The redhaired girl turns around at the call of her name. She sees Yang waving to her, quite excitedly, and Blake in tow. She makes her way over to the two girls, wondering what they need her for.

"Yo." Ruby greets with her hands in her hoodies pocket, trying to look as cool as possible since they were at school. Spoiler alert: It did not work very well. 

"Seriously? Yo. That's what you came up with."

"I'm trying," the younger girl whined.

"Maybe try harder," her sister whined back, mimicking Ruby. 

"Stop you two. Ruby, do you want to come to the movies with us?"

"Oh, um, just with the two of you?" Don't get her wrong, she loved spending time with her sister and her girlfriend. There just happened to be a problem when hanging out with the two of them alone. She did not want to be a third wheel. Especially a third wheel for two teenagers at the movies. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster. 

"No, Velvet and Sun already agreed to come with us." Sun took no convincing since they already knew the plan. Velvet, on the other hand, took some convincing. She wasn't entirely on board when it came to getting Weiss and Ruby together, she felt as if they needed to do it themselves. But at the same time, she knew about Weiss'... shortcomings. Coco talked about her a lot, and it caused her to see the shorter girl in a different light. Once she found out Coco was going to be there, she was practically sold on the idea. 

She probably wasn't going to make any effort to get the two girls together, but she would be siting by Coco. She might even hold her hand in the darkness of the theater. They were, well Velvet wasn't quite sure what they were. She knew they liked to hand out with each other, but it seemed different than just normal friends. They weren't close enough to be best friends, she knew that much. But, there was something about the short-haired brunette that just made her heart flutter. She felt comfortable around the girl, something someone rarely makes her feel. 

Sure, she was comfortable around her friends, but not like she was with Coco. She felt like she could relax, like she didn't need to be on guard around her. It was nice. So yeah, once she found out Coco was going there wasn't a single thought in her mind that deterred her from attending as well. 

After finding out that Sun and Velvet were coming, Ruby felt less opposed. She liked her sister and Blake, she really did. But she didn't like feeling like a third wheel. She felt almost like she was imposing, and she wanted to give them both space and privacy. 

"Okay, okay. What are we seeing?"

"Oh, we don't know yet." Yang just looked at her with a smile. 

"Fine, I don't have anything else going on this weekend. As long as it's not some dumb romantic movie."

The bumblebee duo rolled their eyes. Of course she doesn't want to see a 'dumb romantic movie'. Ruby has always been one for action movies. Big explosions and fight scenes. That was going to be hard to get Weiss to agree to.

\----------------------------------------

Weiss expected this weekend to be calm. She didn't have to study this weekend, there was no carry-over work from school because she got everything done during the week, and she gets to spend time with her friends. She was wrong. 

Neptune, Coco, Pyrrha, and Weiss had been sitting in the theater parking lot trying to decide what movie to see. Neptune and Coco, who had already preplanned what movie they were going to see (without Weiss' and Pyrrha's knowledge) were having a harder time than they thought convincing Weiss to watch their movie choice. 

"Why can't we just watch a historical drama or a musical? Neptune you love musicals, I don't understand why you're so opposed." 

"You got to pick the movie last time and I'm not in the mood for a musical right now. Plus, Birds of Prey looks so fucking good. You're telling me you don't want to see a hot, badass chick show the world who's boss?" Neptune...had a point. She may hate objectifying people and treating them like they were nothing but trophies (cough, chough, Father) but she couldn't deny that there was something about badass women doing badass shit.

"Fine. Only because Birds of Prey is better than Freaky. Coco, you know I can't do scary movies." Weiss crossed her arms across her chest and looked at her friends. Truthfully, Coco suggested the horror movie on purpose. Any way to persuade Weiss into picking Birds of Prey, even if she really did want to see Freaky. She might save that for just her and Velvet, who surprisingly loved horror movies almost as much as herself. They did scare her and from what Coco knows, the taller girl was incredibly jumpy, but Velvet turned out to be a very avid fan of the movie genre. 

"It's not my fault you're a scary cat." Neptune and Coco let out a little laugh, only to show Weiss that the two were joking. 

"Bitch, I'm mentally ill, leave me alone." 

"So is Neptune," Pyrrha said as she leaned in to whisper, "I've heard he has _simp_." That got Coco and Weiss to crack up seconds before Pyrrha joined them. The three girls were laughing and Neptune just rolled is eyes before joining in. 

"Neptune!"

"Speak of the devil." The girls turned around to see a blur of white and yellow run up and jump on Neptune, who caught them quite easily. "Hi, cutie," Neptune mumbled, feeling like he just proved the red-haired girl right. Was it really so bad that he cared about his partner? Sun's been through a lot, and is still one of the most positive people Neptune has ever met. So what if he likes them a lot, he's happy and he likes making Sun happy. 

Following Sun, much slower because walking is a thing, was Blake, Yang, Velvet, and Ruby. Jaune was going to come, but he had to babysit his younger sisters, much to the disappointment of Pyrrha, who has had a crush on the oblivious boy for as long as everyone could remember. They tried to talk Nora into coming and bringing her boyfriend, Ren, but they were doing something called 'Pancake Cannonball,' and that was something that no one wanted to know about. 

Weiss saw Ruby and felt her heart speed up. Seriously, it felt like it was going to beat out of her fucking chest and run to to the younger girl and give her a hug. Fuck. This was not good. This was supposed to be a 'forget about Ruby weekend,' not a 'see Ruby and have her occupy her thought for the rest of her life.' Maybe that was dramatic, but can you really blame her? 

"Oh, um. Hey, Weiss." Ruby looked like she was sporting a blush that lived up to her name. Why was she blushing? Was she nervous? Maybe she was scared and didn't know what else to do, so she just decided to be civil as to not ruin everyone else's weekend. Oh my God, what if she was angry at her? Weiss knew she was a bitch, but she didn't think she was _that_ much of a bitch. Wait, she said hi. Respond. Just say something. But not something dumb. She's looking at you, just say somethi-

"Hey...Ruby. How, um, are you today?" Fuck, what was that? This is so awkward oh my gosh. She's going to leave and never talk to her again and-

"It's been pretty good. I'm just glad we're out of school, ya know." Ruby laughed and scratched the back of her neck. "How about you?"

"Oh, I'm doing quite swell. Just peachy." Weiss gave the girl a tight lipped smile and glared over at her _not_ friends. They were all paying attention to other things, but Weiss could tell it was fake. How dare they do this to her. When she was done with them, Beacon High was going to need to find new students because so help her God-

"So, what movie are you guys going to see?" Ruby looked at her with a smile, like she didn't know what was going on. Maybe she didn't. There's no way she would have set something up like this with her friends, Ruby was better than that. 

"I think we decided on Birds of Prey."

"That's what we're seeing too!" There was that smile again. That God damn smile. Who gave her the right to have a smile that could melt Weiss' heart in a fraction of a second. Wait, they're seeing Birds of Prey too? No wonder Neptune was so admit about seeing it. He did plan this. But with who? Probably Blake, who's been snooping in her business for who knows how long. And Coco, too. She's never been innocent, that's just a fact. 

"Oh, lovely. I take it you'll be sitting with us then since our little groups are more intertwined than I thought." From that statement, both girls looked over to see them talking. Pyrrha and Yang were talking about sports, with Blake silently listening from Yang's side. The two girls play basketball together, so it's no wonder that they would get along. Sun and Neptune were talking very animatedly about a subject, Sun enthusiastically explaining while Neptune nods and comments along just as enthusiastically. They really were perfect for each other. 

What surprised Ruby much more than it did Weiss, was Velvet and Coco chatting. The two girls were being much quieter than the other two groups. Coco was talking to Velvet about something, and Velvet was nodding and smiling, but not in the fake 'oh yeah I'm listening' way. It was more like an 'I enjoy listening to your voice and what you're saying' kind of way.

"Hey!" Ruby called out to the groups. "Do you guys all just want to sit together since we're seeing the same movie?" The groups turned their heads and all nodded in agreement. 

"Yeah, good idea, Rubes!"

"Thank you, but it was Weiss' ideas." Ruby pointed at the shorter girl, and all eyes were on her. Yang with an unreadable look. Pyrrha and Velvet with smiles. Sun and Blake with smirks. And Coco and Neptune with 'I told you so' looks. 

Holy hell this movie was going to be a nightmare. 

"Okay, awesome. I call a seat next to Weiss." Ruby declared as she made her way to the theater doors. 

Yeah, this movie was going to be a nightmare. That is, if she could find the control to actually focus on the movie instead of who she was going to be sitting next to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, this chapter is over two months late. I made it a bit longer as an apology. It started out as just a bit of writers block, I knew where I wanted the chapter to go, but couldn't figure out how to get it there, ya know the normal stuff. I don't plan on giving up on this fic, I don't see a lot of WR High School AUs, but I feel like they work perfectly. I like the way it's going right now and I really don't want to stop. 
> 
> Now for a bit of explanation (I guess). Life basically kicked me in the face, but I'm working on it. I just got diagnosed with ADHD, so things will hopefully get better and more consistent after this. I also discovered a few things about myself, so that's cool. I thought I'd introduce myself now that I have things a bit more figured out, more for my sake than for yours. Hi, I'm genderfluid and bisexual with a preference leaning away from men. The only people I'm out to are the people reading this right now, so that's pretty scary.
> 
> Fun fact: If I had a frog I'd name it Henry.
> 
> Edit: Turns out it's OCD not ADHD still working on it tho:)


	9. Everyone Has an Opinion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo what is popping? Longer chapter since I've been slacking a bit.

So, the movies were...a thing. Weiss wasn't sure she remembered anything about the movie to begin with; she's lucky that it wasn't as disastrous as she thought it would be. After Ruby's bold declaration of sitting next to her, Weiss' brain went to the worst. What if she made a complete fool of herself in front of the younger girl and had to move to Germany with her grandparents, change her name, and never show her face again? Maybe Nora could help with that. 

That wouldn't work sadly, as her grandparents, much like her father, were homophobic. Long story short, holidays were a blast.

After purchasing tickets, the now conjoined group made their way inside. Well, she made it inside without making a complete fool of herself. That's cool. Just another two plus hours to get through, no biggie. Actually it was a biggie. A big biggie. Weiss hasn't spent more than an hour with the younger girl, and that was _with_ distractions. There was no way this movie was going to be able to capture her attention like the brunette would. 

It was easier at school. She needed to get that work done. It wasn't just the concern of being the best, or respected, or even successful. It was all so her father would be proud of her. Praise her. Acknowledge her. Something, anything. But she didn't care about this movie. Right now, all she cared about was where she was going to sit and how she was going to survive. 

"Yo bros, so who's sitting where?" Thank you Sun, that was the million dollar question. 

"I'm fine with anyone as long as I'm not sitting next to the enby or the quarterback." Weiss rolled her eyes while the group let out a few giggles. 

"Awwww, but Weiss I thought you were just starting to love me," and, "Weiss, that's homophobic," were spoken at the same time. Weiss let out a scoff at the homophobic comment. 

"Just because something happens that you don't like, doesn't mean it's homophobic, Yang." 

"Well, I'm a homo and you're discriminating against me by not letting me sit next to you, so," Yang trailed off with a smirk. So maybe she just wanted to get under her skin a little, sue her. 

"I thought you were pan," Weiss started hearing an 'aww you remember things about me' coming from Yang. "Second, I don't want to be exposed to more 'jock energy' as you call it, in fear of losing brain cells. Same goes for you running back," Weiss looked at Sun. "I tolerate you at best when you're not deepthroating Neptune's tongue." 

"You're lucky that's all you've seen me deepthroat." Sun put their hand up to get a high five from Blake, who rolled her eyes and gave Sun a slow tap of the hand. That didn't seem to lessen the blonde's energy as they let out a 'woohoo!' and jumped, the smile never leaving their face. 

Weiss couldn't stay prickly for long, she always seemed to have a bit of a soft spot for the energetic blonde. Emphasis on small, she had a reputation as Ice Queen after all. She and Sun had met through Neptune. 

Pyrrha, Coco, Neptune, and herself had planned to have a small get together at Coco's house, seeing as she had the most laid back parents of the group. That, and they were never home. Her parents were both fashion designers, which not only benefited Coco by giving her a sense of style and an unlimited supply of top of the line brands, but also made it so her parents were often out of town for fashion shows or collaborations with other designers and models. 

Yet, somehow her parents managed to still remain presents in her life. Every event, every birthday, every holiday, they managed to make time for her. They spent time together as a family when they were home, and talked on the phone when they were away. When something was troubling Coco, the two listened and helped with whatever they could. 

When she came out to her parents, it was anything but dramatic. Her father was bisexual, so saying she was also such wasn't a big deal to them. Her mother and father acknowledged that even with an accepting family, they knew it could still be a scary thing to admit. They were glad she trusted them enough to share the information, and then they all went back to watching tv. Everything proceeded as before, now with the added remark of, 'any boys, or girls catch your eye yet?'

Neptune had brought Sun to their little hang out, and shyly introduced them as his partner. It was one of the first times Wiess had ever seen Neptune shy and vulnerable. Neptune was sort of known to be the confident, outgoing person of the group. His confidence mixed with Coco's cockiness often led the two towards trouble. If it weren't for the caring attitude of Pyrrha and the sternness of Weiss, the albino was willing to bet that the mischievous duo would have gotten themselves arrested at least once. 

After the shy introduction from Neptune, Sun seemed to take over. They enthusiastically greeted the three girls with a smile, and expressed very quickly that their pronouns were they and them. It was... a lot to handle for Weiss. The sudden shift caused by the bubbly blonde seemed to almost give Weiss emotional whiplash. The enby made her anxious. While she was used to being around peppy people due to being on the cheer squad, Sun was on an entirely different level. 

She remained weary around them, simply because she didn't want to lose more control over herself than she had already lost. The white haired girl quickly came to realize that even with their disposition as bright as their namesake, Sun was not as energetic as their first meeting implied. 

After remaining in their company for a while (a total of five separate hangouts) Weiss began to relax around the blonde. She would even be as bold as to say that he grew on her quite a bit, and it's not just because they made Neptune happy, though that was definitely a huge plus. The football player mellowed out after the initial excitement had passed, making Weiss slightly less prickly towards them. 

Weiss and Sun texted more often than the cheerleader would like to admit. At first, it started out as simple courtesy texts. Sometimes Sun would ask if they had homework from a certain class, or if there was a quiz or test the next day. 

The two didn't really start getting close until a few months later. Weiss had had a particularly rough day that week. That whole week was pretty rough if she was being honest. Sun had found her on top of a little gazebo at the park around midnight. Her father had ripped into her for not performing at her best, and may or may not have put his hands on her, but that was a story for another time. 

They climbed up onto the gazebo with her and just sat silently. There were no words exchanged that night, there didn't need to be. Sun had learned over the months that Weiss wasn't much of a 'talk about my real feelings' kind of person, and felt like she just needed someone there for her. 

After texting about the incident a few weeks later, Weiss discovered that Sun was out 'simply because they enjoyed looking at the stars.' She learned Sun was very into astrology and that looking up at the night sky was a form of relaxation for the football player. It was the most personal and genuine conversations Weiss had ever had with them, and since then, the two seemed to understand each other on a deeper level.

Sun was like the sibling she never had. Sure, Winter was there when she could be, but her job was so demanding that often times she couldn't be there for Weiss when she wanted to be. Whitley, there's not much to say about him. He and Weiss had never been particularly close, not that she minded. There's no point in missing something you never really had. They lived in the same house, passed pleasantries when they crossed paths, but the two never went out of their way to be with the other. 

Over time, Sun and Weiss continued to grow closer, and they became one of her closest friends. They may not seem like it since they don't hang out in person much, but Weiss could argue that she talks to them more than she does ninety percent of the people in her life. She was there for them when someone at school continued to misgender them or when someone would claim all too loudly that 'there were only two genders.' 

They were there for her when Weiss would feel more alone than usual. They both stayed up pretty late at night, most likely for different reasons. It wasn't uncommon for one to text the other around one a.m. asking the other how their day was. 

Weiss was there for Sun when they'd said they wanted to try and wear some makeup, fully supporting and giving advice as to what brands and colors would look good on them. 

Sun was there for Weiss when they noticed she had a busted lip at school one day. She blamed it on dropping her phone on her face, and everyone bought it, or so she thought. She received a text that night around midnight with the word 'gazebo.' She didn't need to look at the sender, she already knew who it was. Sun had been waiting for her, the two sat in silence for what felt like hours before Sun asked what happened. 

She still wouldn't tell them, but she was sure they've bound to have some idea by now. Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if Coco, Neptune, and Pyrrha suspected something. You can only blame yourself for being clumsy for so long when you're practically the picture of poise and grace.

It was almost like there was this unspoken rule between them, which ironically, involved them not speaking. There's no way Weiss could just openly confide in her friends like that. She wasn't weak. She could handle less than a year with her father. Hell, she spent the last seventeen with him. What's one more? 

In denial about needing help, Weiss had agreed to sit next to Ruby, much to the surprise of their companions. They were expecting a bit more of a fight. The group almost seemed to couple off, save for Pyrrha, who most likely would have sat with Ruby's and Velvet's friend. John? Maybe? But Ruby had said something about him needing my babysit three of his sisters. 

Sun also mentioned that Ren and Nora couldn't make it, something about a pancake monarchy that couldn't be missed. 

She didn't want to know. 

The group agreed to get four buckets of popcorn, of varying sizes, since food at the theater was incredibly expensive for some reason. Weiss had quickly swooped to the front of the line to pay.

"Weiss, no. It's not your turn to pay for food, you know that." Other forms of protest were present within the group as Weiss handed the cashier her card, paying for not only the popcorn, but the group's beverages and sweets as well.

"Oh, I'm not paying, Jacque is." Weiss turned to the group after politely declining the receipt, a small smirk present on her face. She made eye contact with Sun, who gave her a small, if not sad, smile. Neptune shrugged and gave a 'well if he insists,' which made the group laugh as they grabbed their respective concessions.

Seats were quickly claimed as they entered the screening room. Sun and Neptune on the far left, followed by Blake and Yang (Weiss seriously doubts the four of them will pay attention to the movie), Pyrrha had decided to take the middle -more than happy to be sitting next to her good friends Yang and Velvet- Velvet had been following close behind Pyrrha (she knew Coco was following her and she wanted to sit next to the slightly older girl without making it too obvious, and on the far right was Weiss and Ruby. 

The 'unintentional' pairings decided to share buckets of popcorn, with Pyrrha sharing with Coco and Velvet. The redhead was not oblivious to the fact that Velvet seemed to be nervous sitting so close to Coco, so she thought she could play a bit of mediator in hopes to ease the quiet girl's anxiety. She also didn't want to get in the way of Weiss and Ruby. 

She may have only known the young albino for two years, but even she knew that Weiss was a 'I'll do it myself' kind of person. Especially after all of the teasing she's endured from Coco and Neptune. Actually, maybe it would have been better to not let the primary offender sit directly next to Weiss as she tried to do... whatever she planned on doing. 

Pyrrha wasn't sure what was going to happen during this little trip, but Weiss' lack of protest at being sat next to Ruby seemed to prove at the very least that she was capable, if not more than willing, to be close to the younger girl. She's just glad that Weiss was fortunate to do so without the pressure to then converse with the redhead, they might have a serious problem then. 

Weiss was not the best conversationalist, especially when you didn't know her. Her anxiety tended to make her a bit insecure and even shy at times (if Pyrrha understands correctly), and that evolved into quite the prickly demeanor as a form of defense.

From what she's heard about their few verbal interactions, it was probably better that they weren't speaking. Weiss was, for lack of better words, quick, sharp, and straight to the point. Pyrrha could count on one hand the amount of times she's heard Weiss stumble over her words. The first time being when asked about her family. She gave quite the roundabout answer, and since that was such an anomaly for the shorter girl, Pyrrha decided to drop it. 

Even when Weiss would get anxious in the cafeteria or before a performance- cheer or otherwise- she was very quick to snap at anyone within range, making it very clear that she did not need to be catered to or treated like glass. 

This seemed no different to Pyrrha, who had seen the blush creep up onto Weiss' cheeks when Ruby had said that it was her idea to merge groups, and when Ruby had declared that she was sitting next to Weiss. The young girl's declaration left no room for arguments from the other participants. She was most likely clueless as to what Coco and Neptune had planned. 

Pyrrha would even be willing to bet that it wasn't just the two of them that planned this little 'coincidence.' Blake and Sun were also quite mischievous when given the opportunity. Sun seemed to egg Blake on often, which led to Cardin Winchester pulling out children's books from his backpack rather than his one notebook last year. Blake doesn't seem to act without reason, but it seems as if she plans these little endeavors out of kindness. 

Blake had, not so lightly, encouraged Weiss to go for Ruby a plethora of times. Not one to waste the opportunity to tease the cheer captain, Blake made sure that Weiss would at least think about the redhead, little did she know Weiss thought about her _quite_ often. Blakes methods were not just for teasing though, that was just a plus. 

In reality, Blake wanted to help normalize things for Weiss. It didn't take a genius to figure out that one of the most outwardly racist CEO's in the country also happened to be homophobic.

It also wasn't hard to tell that maybe Ruby also, sort of, might also like Weiss too. Just a little bit. 

Ruby had come up to Blake one day asking about the white haired girl. What her deal was. What she was like outside of class. All sorts of questions, some of which Blake did not know the answer to. She wasn't the least bit subtle when asking the questions, and Blake couldn't help but inwardly smirk. They were both idiots. 

What Blake didn't know was that Ruby had managed to find Weiss on Instagram, not that it was difficult seeing as she came from a family with a _very_ big name.

Did Ruby stalk her Instagram? Yes, she did. She found out that Weiss had a sister which she adores very much. Ruby was aware that the other girl had a brother, although there was practically nothing on him through Weiss. She often hung out with Neptune, Coco, and Pyrrha. Surprisingly enough, she was tagged in a lot of Sun's pictures. 

Ruby was able to find further that Sun and Weiss were closer than she thought they were, Sun liked taking pictures and videos of Weiss in not the most graceful of times. There was a video posted of Weiss chasing Sun down after they took what looked to be one of her books. There was a picture of Weiss mid-flip on a trampoline, not even she could make her face neutral during that. 

Ruby did stumble upon a picture Sun had taken of them at the gym, something she may or may not have hovered on for longer than normal. Weiss was in track leggings and a sports bra, which of course were matching. Sun had their shirt off and had taken the picture in the mirror when Weiss wasn't looking. 

' _Of course she's athletic_ ,' Ruby thought while scrolling through the pictures. ' _Wait, she's a cheerleader, you idiot. Why are you surprised?_ ' 

However, upon further inspection of Weiss' page, she found a picture from a shopping trip she had gone on. In the picture there seemed to be a red hoodie in a bag that Ruby could only recognize as a Hot Topic bag. Ruby didn't know any of Weiss' friends that would go to Hot Topic, all of them seem set on name brand, designer clothing. Plus, none of them really wore any red. Except for Pyrrha, who when asked about it by Yang had said that she wasn't interested in the store. 

Ruby wondered who it was for. It was a nice shade of red. Very similar to the red tank top she was wearing to the movies currently. She had opted to pair the tank top with a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, and her black and red converse. She had wished she could bring her headphones to really tie the look together, but it wouldn't really make any sense to wear them to the movies. 

Weiss seemed to be wearing something almost opposite to Ruby, which she noted with a little chuckle in her head. She didn't notice it much until she got closer to Weiss, and by closer, she means sitting right freaking next to her. 

The slightly shorter girl was wearing a white pleated miniskirt, a long-sleeved blue button up, and white heeled boots. It was November, so it made sense that she was wearing a long sleeved shirt. 

Ruby never understood how someone could wear button ups like that, the sleeves always bothered her around her wrists because they would be tighter than she was used to, and the whole shirt just felt stiff. Weiss pulled off the look though, like she always has. Ruby didn't even notice that the movie had started until Weiss had, without looking, reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bucket in Ruby's lap.

Ruby took a long sip of her slurpee that Weiss had so generously purchased for the group. It was cherry, the best flavor, and not just because it was red. 

The movie progressed without much of a hiccup. Except, there was one time when the two girls weren't paying attention and touched hands when grabbing the popcorn. Weiss didn't seem to notice, seemingly engrossed in the movie she apparently didn't want to watch. In her defense, it was a good movie. Weiss seemed to have completely forgotten about her predicament, relaxing more in her seat. 

She had sat with her legs crossed for the majority of it, however her left leg started to go numb after a bit. After some shifting, she had pulled her left leg over her right, hoping to sate the the pins and needles. All was fine until- 

"Sorry," the white haired girl whispered quietly to her neighbor, hoping not to have disturbed the rest of the people around her. During the movement, she had touched Ruby with her shoe. 

"No worries," Weiss looked over at the girl and their eyes met. Weiss didn't need to look down to know that Ruby had a small smile adorning her face. But just like that, Weiss' ability to forget the situation was gone. Shattered. Weiss couldn't remember anything that happened during the second part of the movie, very similarly to Ruby, who didn't know much about the first part. 

As the group walked out, the tension once again left Weiss' body. She didn't have to be near the other girl anymore, she could relax. She was going to go home after this, take a nice long bath, possibly have Klein make her some tea, and just relax. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to really be going as planned for Weiss that day. 

"Hey, we should get froyo!" Ruby , who had been next to her while walking out (but not as close to her as she was when they were watching the movie) looked over at Neptune, who seemed to be almost hanging himself on Sun since they stopped moving. 

"No." Ruby looked back at Weiss. There was a finality in her voice, maybe she had reached her socializing limit for the day.

"Bitch, I drove. Just come get froyo with us. You promised you'd hang out today." 

"No, I said I would go to the movies. Plus, I'm more than capable of getting an Uber." The two had a staring contest. No one seemed to want to break it. 

Just kidding. "Awe, come on Weiss, a little froyo never hurt anybody. Unless you're like busy or something after this. Maybe we could say more than two words to each other." Neptune smirked as Weiss looked at Ruby. More than two words, that's exactly what she was afraid of. She wasn't going to get froyo with these imbeciles. 

"Oh, no." Yang knew what was coming next. Everyone who knew Ruby did. There was no way Weiss was getting out of this one. 

"Please," Ruby brought out her secret weapon. She stared into Weiss' eyes and gave her a pout. Weiss, to her credit, seemed to be holding out against Ruby's puppy dog eyes. The group stood watching the two, hoping that what Ruby was doing was working. Weiss' features seemed to soften the longer she looks at the younger girl, until finally- 

"Fine." Weiss crossed her arms and looked away, seriously she was blushing a lot today. The group cheered and began to make their way out of the theater. 

_'I can't believe that worked!'_ Ruby was giddy inside at the prospect of spending more time with the young Schnee. 

_'This day is going to be so much longer than I thought.'_ Weiss was dreading being close to Ruby again, not sure if she would be able to continue to control the beating of her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loving where this story is going not going to lie. Hope you guys liked it! See you soon:)


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